Designated Visiting Hours
by AndraLee
Summary: Bella welcomed Edward back into her life with open arms, but Charlie isn't so forgiving. In fact, Charlie looks for every opportunity to make Edward miserable, or at least uncomfortable, so grounding Bella has been a way to punish Edward, too.
1. Guests

Disclaimer: The wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the world of Twilight and all its inhabitants. I just wanna play with her toys. Limited dialogue and text appear within the following text. No copyright infringement is intended.

***

**Designated Visiting Hours - Chapter 1: Guests**

_**Designated visiting hours**_**.** The expression carried the same institutional quality that words like _imprisonment_ and _life sentence_ had. Charlie hoped, at least, that they did. It also wouldn't hurt if they held connotations that might import a bodily threat to Bella's daily visitor. Something more on the line of _**death sentence...if you ever hurt her again**_.

Charlie took satisfaction in believing that placing Bella under house arrest and her insistence that Edward join her almost daily, meant that Charlie was able to punish Edward, too. So Charlie began to ponder other forms of punishment that could be inflicted on Bella's visitor without it being overtly apparent that Edward's discomfort was the main objective.

Charlie suspected that Edward's parents were too indulgent. Since neither they nor Bella seemed willing to rebuke Edward for his callous treatment of Bella last fall, Charlie felt that finding ways to torment the boy was his fatherly duty.

Edward choked back laughter.

"Shhh! This isn't funny," Bella tensed and swatted at Edward.

On the screen, the helpless Marion Crane was preparing to take a shower. That meant that any second now Bella would start shrieking and scrambling around to hide behind Edward's back. The back belonging, of course, to the only murderer within, well, a few miles.

"You're scared because there's a psycho on your TV, not because there is a vampire on your couch?"

Edward found the humor in this little scenario so delightful that he brought a few Hitchcock movies over to Bella's so he... they... could enjoy them... again and again.

She murmured, "well, you are my vampire," emphasizing the possessive adjective.

_Definitely_.

But Charlie had pulled into the drive and, considering Charlie's mood, Edward knew it would be better if Charlie didn't walk in when Bella was obviously distressed, even if fictional characters were the cause. Charlie seemed more than a little annoyed already, although that was his overall tone since Edward had returned to Forks.

"Fortunately for you, Charlie's here, so I won't be tempted to demonstrate just how frightening I could truly be," Edward teased, sliding to the floor, where he sat at Bella's feet. It was hard to wipe the stupid grin he was wearing off his face.

Charlie opened the door stirring the dust and sending new scents into the room.

_House cat!_ Edward mentally shouted. _How the hell did I miss that! _The cat's odor was a sharp contrast to Bella's strawberry-floral aroma and Charlie's cinnamon roll scent.

(There were no doughnut shops in Forks.)

_Damn, too late to retreat._ Edward groaned internally as the cat began to hiss, digging its claws into Charlie's jacket in its attempt to break free. It glared at Edward.

Marion Crane was dying. No one in the Swans' house was paying her any attention.

The scowl Charlie wore deepened momentarily, then vanished.

"Whoa! He doesn't like you, does he?" Charlie broke the silence he generally maintained around Edward and grinned. Edward had never seen Charlie this happy about anything. Apparently the Fates had dropped an unconsidered form of torture right into Charlie's waiting hands.

"Maybe he knows he's in a house where NOBODY likes cats," Bella said leaping from the couch to place herself between Edward and either would-be attacker.

Edward would have been amused, but one of the downsides of feeding on fur bearing creatures was the presence of parasites. Not that they could harm a vampire, of course, but the thought of even one flea biting Bella...

Edward stared at the furious animal and stifled a growl of his own.

"Poor kitty. Seems sweet Isabella isn't going to welcome your company," Charlie cooed.

Bella turned to Edward who now stood beside her and shrugged.

"Perhaps I should be going," Edward said glumly.

Suddenly, Charlie yelped, "Darn it. Come back!"

A clawed paw had finally found a purchase on Charlie's neck. Reflexively, he yielded to the pain, freeing the cat. Edward's quick sidestep toward the kitchen and the backdoor appeared to occur almost simultaneously. A black streak headed toward the dim kitchen nearly colliding with Edward. The cat momentarily paused, arching its back and issuing a low hiss. Edward cleared his throat and the cat ran under an arm chair. It dropped its head to the floor and glued its wide, fearful eyes to Edward.

Charlie muttered something that sounded like an expletive as he looked around and rubbed his neck; spying the cat, a smile returned to his eyes.

"Okay, so where'd the cat come from?" Bella sounded cross.

"He belongs to one of the old guys that hangs out at the diner. Had some surgery on a foot or something. I'm going to drop the cat off at the vet's in the morning," Charlie stated as he removed his jacket and hung up his gun belt.

Charlie glanced at Edward, who had continued to move further from the cat.

"What's a matter? Allergic?" Charlie's expression didn't reflect his glee. It was like he'd won a thousand dollars playing the lottery.

"Hope not, " Charlie continued before Edward had a chance to reply. "Cause I'm thinking about getting a cat."

Charlie touched his neck again and winced as he felt the oozing wounds.

Edward grimaced. Any cat would eventually find a way to escape the house just like this one was trying to do.

_Maybe getting a cat wouldn't be a bad idea._ Charlie misinterpreted Edward's expression and tried to stoke the fire. _Almost as good as having a guard dog._

"He's sure keeping his eyes on you."

Bella's kind nature had taken over and she had knelt down beside the chair speaking softly.

"Here kitty, kitty. Don't be scared."

Preparing to defend itself, the cat shifted its weight; its muscles tensed as it hissed more forcefully.

"Ah, yeah. Allergic," Edward said as he moved toward the door. Allowing the cat to draw Bella's blood was not an option. Edward leaned into the screen door, opening it with his foot just enough to offer the cat a means of escape.

"Edward, don't let the cat out!" Charlie barked, catching the move, just as the cat launched itself across the floor.

Edward pulled the door closed sharply. The cat whirled and ran in the opposite direction. Finding the stairs, it sought the safety of the second floor.

"Maybe I should get its food and stuff out of the car," Charlie said. "Be right back." He directed the last sentence at Edward.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked Edward.

"I'm fine. Sorry though to scare the cat," Edward replied.

"Allergic?" Bella giggled softly.

Edward laughed then stepped out on the front porch just as Charlie shut the cruiser door. Bella stood in the doorway behind Edward.

"Edward?" Bella whispered.

Charlie watched her face fill with longing and sadness. Her expression echoed the emptiness she'd worn for all the months HE had been away. _Damn! _Charlie's happiness crumbled and he felt guilty for helping to create a situation that caused Bella pain.

Edward's discomfort was an entirely other matter, of course. It seemed somehow fitting that the presence of the annoying cat was an opportunity created through the generosity of Edward's father, Carlisle. Dr. Carlisle Cullen was known to be extraordinarily attentive to his patients. In the cat owner's case, that meant Dr. Cullen had remedied the fact the man lived alone without family to assist in his recovery by ordering extended hospital care, an unexpected financial expense that Dr. Cullen covered.

Charlie met Edward's eyes.

Bella whispered his name again. That name turned in Charlie's gut.

_Aw, hell! _Every time he looked at Edward something inside shouted alarm. Charlie consciously attempted to redirect that warning to Edward himself, so that it blared from Charlie's eyes.

"Edward," Bella sighed more loudly.

Charlie broke eye contact with Edward and looked at Bella again and then at the car.

_Well, idiot, she's standing there waiting for you to kiss her. The least I can do is give you --- her--- the chance._ Charlie opened the car door and ducked his head inside, reaching for something.

Edward almost smiled and turned back to Bella.

Charlie looked up to see Bella place her arms on Edward's. She rose up on her toes.

_One one-thousand. Two one-thousand. Three one-thousand. Four one-thousand._

Bella's hand moved up and she leaned into Edward.

Charlie's magnanimity evaporated and he slammed the car door as loudly as possible. He stomped back toward the house and onto the porch.

Edward thought that tonight, maybe it was his turn to take advantage of a situation someone else had created. Edward let his lips linger on Bella's forehead.

"Ah, er --- Edward, as you're leaving, check and make sure I didn't drop anything," Charlie's voice bristled.

"Sure, Charlie, glad to help," Edward said.

Charlie looked at Bella. She glared at Charlie, her face flush. _Better grouchy Bella, than sad Bella,_ Charlie said to himself as his gaze shifted to Edward. The young man seemed mildly entertained, but he also seemed to know that a snicker at this juncture would be misinterpreted by anyone who could hear it, particularly Bella.

"Good night, Bella. Charlie," Edward said as he walked away.

Bella stepped aside as Charlie entered the house and went into the living room. When he heard Bella close and bolt the front door, he turned off the light and peered through the blinds as Edward's car started.

"Dad," Bella growled.

Charlie exhaled sharply as he watched the car slide very slowly from the curb. He checked, from time to time, making sure that Edward really was leaving and that Bella was not following him away.

"Sorry to end your visit so early, Bells. Wanna catch a game?"

Bella didn't say a word, but tuned in ESPN and walked into the kitchen. Charlie could hear her opening the refrigerator. Charlie looked back toward the television. A jock blathered about up and coming college players.

"You could invite Edward to watch TV --- try to be a little nicer."

"I'm nice," Charlie replied. "When am I not NICE?" he emphasized the word.

"You know what I mean."

Bella was always beautiful, but when angered, she was staggering --- just like her mother.

Renee had been an aberration. He wanted her and their marriage just as much as he wanted anything. He'd been sad, but not surprised when the marriage ended. Of all the things about his relationship with Renee that Charlie could miss, he had missed Bella the most.

It pleased Charlie to know that she wanted to be here in Forks, even though he also knew that the boy was the motivation. Bella claimed that the green moss and the fog had grown on her.

Bella put a plate in Charlie's hands.

"I'm going to turn in early," she said. "Maybe read a little."

Charlie squinted at the television screen. He got an uneasy feeling on those evenings when Bella feigned tiredness and headed upstairs early. He always got the nagging feeling that things were happening of which he was unaware. Things like Bella sneaking out... or Edward sneaing in. Or maybe the ghost of all the nights he'd sneaked out when he was Bella's age had returned to haunt him.

"Kay, Bells. Sleep well."

Still there was no denying the fact that occasionally, late in the evening, something would rouse him from his sleep making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up --- just the way they did whenever Edward was present. Charlie often fought the urge to grab his sidearm and check the closets and spaces under the beds for boogiemen.

For a moment Charlie stopped breathing to concentrate on the muffled sounds of the opening and closing of drawers, cabinets and doors coming from the second floor. _No monsters in the closet tonight._ Charlie sighed.

_Not yet. _A thought countered Charlie's.

Charlie groaned. He'd rather think of Edward slipping into the house than of Bella creeping out. Even if Edward had the nerve and could get past Charlie, at least, Bella was home where she belonged and Charlie knew where she was. And Charlie was fairly certain that Edward would never to try to hurt Bella while Charlie was anywhere nearby.

When Edward had broken Bella's heart last fall, he had waited until Charlie wasn't home. _Coward._ Charlie seethed. Bella said it had all been a '_misunderstanding_'. Charlie twisted the word in his mind.

He thought about the three days when Bella had disappeared. It was bad, but not as agonizing as all the months he'd watch Bella stumbling through life like she barely inhabited her own body. Edward would never appreciate the pain he'd caused. How could he?

Charlie recalled Edward holding Bella in front of the house, the day she returned. Charlie had rushed out of the house yelling. Edward stopped and stared at him. Edward looked awful. (Not that he ever looked okay... too pale and he never ate. Anorexic?)

Edward just stood there cradling Bella like she was the most precious thing in the world. And Bella? Nestled in Edward's arms as if there were no place else she could possibly want to be.

Charlie demanded that Edward release Bella, attempting to drag her sleeping form from his arms. Bella regained consciousness and fought the separation, struggling to remain in Edward's arms. Then when she tried to walk into the house on her own, she had fallen. From only a few feet away, Charlie watched as Bella dropped toward the concrete. If Edward hadn't reached out and caught her, she would have been injured. Charlie realized that he couldn't keep Bella from being hurt, no matter how near he might be.

Charlie expected to see some sign that the months of Edward's silence had scarred Bella. Charlie watched for any indication that she harbored pain or anger or that she no longer trusted Edward, but other than the sad expression that fleeting brushed her face when he left each evening, it was as if nothing had changed. A stranger watching might never have guessed there had ever been a breach of faith between them, that the feelings they shared had never been tainted by longing and loss.

While Bella was totally forgiving, Charlie most certainly was not. But he wouldn't argue with Bella, if she were so completely determined to grant the young man her utmost faith and affection. Charlie begrudgingly welcomed the return of happiness to Bella's life.

Charlie observed Edward to be as attentive as ever, perhaps more so. He tolerated and appeared to abide by the restrictions upon Bella's time politely and respectfully. Whenever Charlie found an opportunity to shake Edward's hand, it was as cold as ever. Charlie chalked it up to nerves and he believed it gave him a gauge on Edward's level of comfort and, more importantly, fear.

Just then the cat crept down the stairs and into the living room. No longer agitated, it sniffed the bag Charlie had retrieved from the car.

Charlie sighed and sought consolation in the earlier scene. He chuckled.

"Let's get your dinner, kitty." Charlie wondered if the creature had a name.

He reached down to stroke its head, the movement stretching the already granulating neck wounds. _I forgive you, kitty._ The cat purred.

"Well, you like ME," Charlie said aloud, as his good mood mushroomed.

Charlie went to the kitchen and filled two bowls: one with water and one with dry food. He sat them down near the backdoor. Then, he checked the locks and headed upstairs with a few newspapers and a disposable tray of cat litter. He paused at the top of the stairs and looked around. Through the open bathroom door, he could see there wasn't enough room for the pan, especially with the pile of towels Bella had left in the floor after her shower. _Maybe I left those there this morning,_ Charlie thought.

Charlie eyed the shadows that covered the floor near Bella's door._ If he's slipping up the stairs and around in the dark, maybe he'll step in cat turds! _Internally, Charlie rolled. He struggled not to laugh out loud as he thought about catching Edward with feces on his expensive sneakers.

Playing a hunch, Charlie had once asked a deputy on the graveyard shift to check the neighborhood for the kid's shiny Volvo. But there had been no sign of it anywhere. Nothing out of place. Sleepy little Forks tucked in all nice and tight.

Charlie made his way to his bed and stretched out. His mind began to drift over his day. Early in the morning, a member of the town council complained about a parking ticket he'd gotten in one of the few metered spots in town. Later, a social worker from the hospital had called to request someone check on the elderly cat owner's house. Courtesy visits on local homes and businesses were typical in a place like Forks where the influx of tax dollars held the hiring of municipal workers and equipment to a minimum.

_Ah,_ Charlie sighed, his mind briefly holding the image of a new police cruiser sitting in his driveway. Charlie yawned and drifted further into the image, toward the place where his favorite fishing pole sat waiting. The sounds of the river and a breeze ruffling the trees led Charlie away, ending another evening of Edward's self-flagellation.

Edward silently slipped into Bella's room through the window.

A/N: In the next chapter, Charlie can't find his overnight guest; and it seems like everyone has something to hide.


	2. Trapped

Disclaimer: The wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the world of Twilight and all its inhabitants. I just wanna play with her toys. No copyright infringement is intended.

***

**Chapter 2: Trapped**

Edward silently slipped into Bella's room through the window. He had waited until the exploring cat settled next to Charlie and the sound of low, rumbling snores began. The gentle beat of Bella's heart had slowed and he knew she was asleep. Tomorrow, she would express disappointment that she had succumbed before seeing him again that night.

_Amazing._

When he crawled into her bed, she unconsciously pulled herself closer to him, resting her head upon his chest. He was humbled. How could the significance of such a simple act ever have escaped his observation? But it had. Before. Now, Edward struggled to define the force that drew them together, imagining pieces of vampires, strewn across a desert and overlooked for final rending, relentlessly seeking to rejoin the whole.

"Umm." Bella stirred slightly. The muscles of her face relaxed completely and her lips parted. She drew in a long, deep breath, then slowly exhaled. She smiled as her eyes began to scan the image in her mind. He wondered what she could be seeing.

"Edward," she whispered.

In another room, Charlie was dreaming. Edward caught a glimpse of cats. Soft, furry cats.... cats that didn't scratch. Charlie's nocturnal reverie was even quieter than the piano staccato of his waking thoughts. Maybe Charlie's quietness of mind was a reflection of an ability to exist completely in a moment without the need for the incessant internal chatter in which most humans engaged. Perhaps it was an innate trait honed by the hours Charlie spent staring into the water and soundlessly waiting, as much a part of the river as the fish he sought there.

Edward relaxed and let the joy he felt in that moment erase his worries and regrets.

Shortly before sunrise Charlie's house guest began to roam, scratching about in the hallway. Suddenly brave, emboldened by perceived concealment, the cat sniffed at the crack under Bella's door and began to emit a quiet threatening growl from deep within its chest. The noise increased, waned and then pitched again, pulling Bella from her dreams. Half-conscious, she looked at Edward quizzically then dragged herself from his arms and rolled away, grabbing for something in the floor beside the bed. Finding a shirt, she flung it toward the door.

"Shoo," Bella hissed as she burrowed back into the blankets and Edward's side.

The cat, growling more loudly, gambled it could fool whatever lay behind the door. He must have imagined himself larger and more dangerous than any mere domesticated feline. Unexpectedly, Bella bounded from the bed, calling the cat's bluff.

"Hush kitty, don't wake up Charlie," she whispered sternly, flinging open the door.

Bella tripped into the hall, kicking the cat box and sending it sliding across the hardwood floor. In response, the cat took flight, landing several feet away and ricocheting off a wall. Momentarily stunned, he hissed and continued a mad scramble, unable to get any traction on the smooth floor.

Charlie sat straight up. He was out of bed and in the hall before forming the first concrete thought. Surveying the scene, he regretted leaving the litter pan in the hallway, mentally chastising himself for the foolish thoughts that led him to place the tray close to Bella's door.

"I'll get this," Charlie said. "Go back to bed. It's time for me to get up anyway."

"It's Saturday, Dad. Sleep in." Bella's caretaker instincts were kicking in.

"Nah, I wanna get the cat down to the vet's, so I can get in some early fishing today."

"Okay, Dad," Bella mumbled like she was almost asleep already. Bella reached for the door knob. She backed into the room without saying another word.

Charlie swept the hall and moved the litter tray into his room. Then, he walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Long, brick-red scabs had formed where the cat had raked his throat. _Kitty, you are going into a box for the trip to the vet's._

When Charlie started the shower, Edward stepped out of the closet. Bella was kneeling on the bed.

"Next time," Edward begged "a little warning before you leap out of bed and throw open the door, if you please."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. After a moment she continued, "I thought you left."

Edward sat down beside her. "I should go," he said with a smile.

"I fell asleep before you came back last night," Bella's complained as she climbed into Edward's lap. "I didn't get to see you again, so I'm not letting you leave." Edward, pleased to have accurately predicted her reaction, fell back compliantly when Bella pushed him.

_Apparently Charlie's visitor is not the only harmless creature that's ready for a fight._ The places on his chest, where Bella had shoved him with her small, delicate hands, tingled. _On second thought, harmless is not a word that should ever be used to describe Bella._

Edward searched for the reasons he should leave. "Charlie might have trouble luring the cat out from behind the washer, if I hang around. That cat's too small to bother with, but he doesn't know that."

"Too small? Hors d'oeuvre maybe?" Bella asked mockingly.

"Absurd," Edward snorted. "Sleep Bella. You obviously need more," he sighed.

Bella grumbled indecipherably until sleep won out. An hour passed. Edward didn't want to leave her, but Charlie couldn't find the cat, and he had decided the only place left to look was in Bella's room.

Charlie opened the door slowly and looked around. Bella was curled under a blanket. When Charlie dropped a knee to the floor and bent to look under the bed, Bella's eyes flew open.

"Dad?"

"Don't get up. I'm trying to find that stupid cat," Charlie said as he struggled to focus on Bella in the darkened room. It appeared that Bella was suddenly wide awake and her expression suggested that she'd been caught doing something truly awful. It was the same look the truants he caught the other day had worn. Charlie was immediately suspicious, although he wasn't sure of what.

"Bella, are you sure the cat couldn't be in your room?" Charlie wondered if Bella might enjoy having a puppy. Cats were too detached, haughty even, and Bella deserved a more loyal companion.

"Uh, yeah. He hasn't been in here. Did you look in the laundry room?"

"Yup, no cat"

He looked around the room again, his eyes falling on the only place that he hadn't checked: Bella's closet. _Hmph._ Charlie stood as if to leave, but walked over in front of the closet. _Was Bella holding her breath? What could she hide in there?_ Charlie mentally choked on a few possibilities before he decided that the only thing he wanted to think about was getting the cat over to the veterinary clinic. _Still...._

"Do you mind if I check your closet?"

"Yes. No. I mean there's no way he could have gotten in there," Bella stammered.

_Surely Bella didn't think Charlie could catch me hiding in the closet,_ Edward thought. His silent laughter shook the tree he was leaning against. Of course, Edward had exited the house before Charlie entered Bella's room. Edward should have gone home to get his car, but he had been curious to see what Charlie would do.

Charlie believed that Bella had more or less agreed to the search of the closet, so he turned his back to her, opened the door, and looked inside.

"You're right. No cat," Charlie said. _Was she dreaming about doing things she shouldn't be doing?_

"Go fishing. I'll find the cat."

"What time do you have to be at work?"

"Not until ten. Edward's driving me. He can help me find the cat and we'll drop it off. There's enough time."

Charlie began to collect his gear, a thought forming in his mind. _If the cat stays, maybe Edward won't hang around all weekend._

Edward continued to listen carefully. Charlie's furry visitor was keeping quiet, still nestled behind the washer. Charlie was rummaging through the refrigerator, putting his hands on something that seemed to be well-hidden on the bottom shelf. He pulled forth a small, plastic tub. _Night crawlers._

"Might have some work for you boys today," Charlie clucked as he opened the lid and peered at the dark soil inside.

The sounds of the shower were replaced by the hum of a hair dryer. Charlie listened and poked at the dirt. A memory crossed his mind: Renee scowling while she held a similar container. _She didn't like worms in her fridge. Come to think of it, she didn't really like fish in there either._ Charlie continued to poke at the dirt until movement was discernible. Charlie concealed the bait in a brown paper lunch bag. _You'll be better off if Bella doesn't see you._

Edward wondered if Charlie might be better off, too.

Edward knew Charlie was weighing his options where the cat was concerned. Allowing the cat to stay all weekend was starting to seem very attractive to Charlie and in the time it would take it Edward to run home and return with his car, Charlie might reach a decision. Edward walked to the front of the house, resolving to trap the creature before Charlie decided that he really wanted to keep the cat around a few more days. As long as Charlie wasn't looking, Edward could easily pull the cat from its hiding place.

_Great,_ Charlie groaned to himself as he heard the knock at the door, certain that Edward was standing on the other side. Charlie opened the door, immediately noticing the absence of Edward's vehicle.

"Where's your car, Edward?" The question sounded like a challenge.

"Good morning, Charlie," Edward said politely. "I'm going to change the oil in the truck for Bella while she's working today." Edward bet that the idea might sidetrack Charlie.

"Oh, you are? Didn't know it was due for an oil change." _I'd be real surprised if you could handle that yourself. But, hey, get right on that. Manual labor oughta be a new adventure for a kid like you. Nothing like hanging out in South America or LA or wherever._

Edward smiled and said nothing. The success of being able to divert the scrutiny of his arrival was tempered by the new direction Charlie's thoughts had taken.

Charlie idly wondered what kind of trouble Edward had gotten himself into when his family had moved away. Bella had made it clear that the topic was not to be discussed. Charlie pondered the likelihood that whatever the problems were, they had contributed to the Cullen matriarch's sudden dislike for life in LA and the family's return to Forks. Using law enforcement resources to search for anything involving the kid would not only be illegal, it would have been a waste of time; wealthy families like his had many ways of keeping their names out of public records and police files.

Charlie desperately wanted to believe that Bella would never get herself into any kind of trouble that might plague her for life. Guiltily, he recalled that Bella had been forced to mother Renee for years and bear his own indifference as he conveniently ignored the situation. Without appropriate parental supervision and support, it was far too easy to fall in with the wrong crowd.

_The wrong crowd indeed._ Vampires could not have constituted a more dangerous association. Unless one counted werewolves.

Edward ached. He had caused nothing but grief for everyone. He was ashamed that Charlie thought less of his family than they deserved. Together, Carlisle and Esme were the most marvelous system of checks and balances: approving, supporting, supervising, or correcting, as needed. Carlisle had supported Edward's decision to leave Forks and the entire family had followed; when doing things Edward's way had proved so disastrous, Esme had called the game. Esme's priority was keeping her family together. The decision to return to Forks as a family had been made before he returned from Volterra.

Looking at himself through Charlie's eyes, Edward saw, that physically, he was staring at the door step, and Charlie was staring at Edward, both men momentarily lost in remorse and fear of the future.

"Well, Bella's getting dressed," Charlie said. "She'll be down soon."

Abruptly Charlie realized an immediate concern had arisen that he could do something about; because inside the house, the smell of Bella's shampoo was still thick in the air and he had just told a high school boy that his daughter was not fully clothed. _Maybe keeping him outdoors will discourage any speculation on that subject._

Knowing that Charlie expected Edward to engage in the crass fantasies that most high school males wasted their imaginations upon was humiliating; but Edward sensed the feelings of concern for Bella's vulnerability that the scent of the strawberry shampoo raised in Charlie, and Edward understood the urge to protect her from anything untoward. He was reminded that it wasn't the smell of Bella's shampoo that had once ignited the worst fantasies Edward had ever had. Relieved that those urges were completely subdued, he shoved away the melancholy mood that nipped at him.

Charlie muttered, "That cat's hiding somewhere. Why don't you check around outside in case it got out."

"Sure, Charlie."

Bella came downstairs as Charlie closed the door.

"Is Edward here?"

"He's outside looking for the cat." Enthusiasm colored Charlie's voice.

"Outside? It's raining."

"Edward seems to like making himself useful," Charlie said taking a longer look at Bella.

"Dad," she admonished, recognizing the sarcasm in Charlie's comment.

"Shirt's a little snug, isn't it?" _Edward might be off-limits, but what she's wearing is not._

Charlie was right. Considering that Bella was going to be working with that wretch Mike Newton much of the day, the stretchy material hugged Bella's body in all the wrong ways. _On the other hand............Charlie would be aghast to know whom he was helping analyze precisely how well Bella's clothing enhanced her natural attributes._

"It's just a regular shirt. Everyone's wearing them. Besides, Alice sent it to me," Bella replied, playing her ace.

Alice could get away with anything. Fortunately for Charlie, Alice was a 'vegetarian'. Otherwise, with only the barest suggestion, Charlie would open a vein himself and hand Alice a glass.

"Hey there, kitty. Come out and keep your paws where we can see them!" It seemed Bella had taken it upon herself to make another search of the laundry room. Charlie found her sitting atop the washer peering between it and the wall. "Looks like the newest prisoner in the Swan penitentiary wasn't able to tunnel out after all."

"Come on. I thought you liked me," Charlie said, reaching for the cat.

Charlie and Bella verbally attempted to coax the cat out of the space behind the washer that it now seemed to have claimed. The cat yawned, but made no effort to move, other than to beat its tail against the wall.

"Bells, there's a box in the trunk of the car. Fetch it for me, will you."

Edward met Bella on the porch.

"You're just in time. There's a rabid beast with fangs in my house," she whispered.

"Er......Sounds highly dangerous," Edward chuckled. He started to ask if Jacob Black had suddenly appeared, but reconsidered. Anyway, Charlie had already claimed the job of opening a can of worms, in more than one way.

Bella laughed. "What should we do?"

"We could make a run for it, but I'm afraid Charlie has already considered keeping the cat all weekend. As long as I'm around the cat will try to escape. Losing that old man's cat would be a very, very bad thing." Carlisle would have Edward and all his siblings combing the vicinity. "You'll have to distract Charlie while I capture your saber tooth tiger."

"Any suggestions?" Bella was taking her role in the conspiracy seriously.

"Why don't you make your breakfast and sit down at the kitchen table. Charlie left a brown bag there. Don't open it. Just ask him what it is." Edward decided to try and keep Charlie's secret.

"What is it?"

"Something Charlie thinks you wouldn't like to see sitting on the table."

Bella protested, "No fair. Tell me."

"Fishing paraphernalia. Charlie knows you aren't the biggest fan of fishing." He could have told her the bag contained fishing lures; but that seemed too concrete a description, more likely to raise her ire, if in fact, she were averse to the worms and discovered Edward knew Charlie had left them lounging on the table since their eviction from the refrigerator.

When Edward and Bella returned inside, Charlie was opening a can of tuna. "Oh, you. Edward. I forgot about you." _Trying to actually. _"Why don't you go turn the TV on and wait in the other room." _See, Bells? I'm nice._

"I'm okay, thanks. I'll wait for Bella."

Charlie grunted. "Suit yourself."

Bella didn't waste any time launching the plan to divert Charlie's attention. "Dad, ugh! Fish doesn't do much for cereal," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"The cat doesn't think your cereal will do much for that milk you're pouring," Charlie pointed out as he noted the animal had begun to growl. _Crazy cat._ Charlie sat the can in the floor in front of the washer.

Bella smirked and sat down at the table. "So what's for lunch?" She reached for the sack and tossed Edward a look that let him know she had not been satisfied with his description of its contents.

Charlie was quicker, more so than Edward would have thought him capable of, snagging the bag before Bella could get her hands on it. The movement was motivated by unexpected desperation. Edward focused on Charlie, looking for the source. But the thought was already gone; all that remained was an echo.

"Nothing you'd be interested in," Charlie muttered, puffing out his lips and pouting a little.

Perhaps Charlie deserved his time fishing. "Uh, Charlie? Do you need a hand getting your stuff to the car?"

"No, thanks. I've got it," Charlie said as he headed out.

When the front door had closed behind him, Bella said, "I still want to know what's really in the bag. Don't think you and Charlie are getting away with something." She spooned another bite into her mouth.

"Give the man a little privacy," Edward told her. "He doesn't want to disappoint you and he knows you don't like anything to do with fishing."

"You sound like you're changing sides," Bella observed. "Traitor."

"Never." Edward laughed.

Edward had his hands on the cat before it could react. The cat's eyes glazed over, as if he might be counting his remaining lives, hoping it were true that cats had nine and that he had at least a few left. The cat uttered a moan of resignation as Edward lowered him into the box.

"There you go, tiger." Edward hoped Charlie really didn't want to keep the cat a few more days. "Here's something to keep you company," Edward said as he shoved the can of tuna into the box, vaguely aware of the cat's futile attempt to scratch his stone hand.

Edward turned his attention back to Bella. "Fishing is not so bad. It keeps Charlie entertained and away from home for hours, but if you'd rather he spent the time with you, I'm sure you have only to make your preference known." Edward sat down at the table across from Bella, the box in his lap. The cat was silent, no longer making threats, concentrating instead on drawing as little attention to itself as possible.

"When you put it that way, fishing does have its points," Bella agreed. "Are your prey usually so cooperative?" she said looking at the box.

"No reason to belabor the effort. The more efficient and faster the hunt, the sooner I can return here to you," Edward winked.

"Do you think there's a bounty on our quarry?" Bella asked, once again excited by their conspiracy.

"I'll be satisfied to have the quiet enjoyment of your company," Edward replied.

"I always wonder what you do all night; now I know. You are thinking up perfect things to say," Bella said just as Charlie re-entered the house.

Charlie was surprised to see Edward holding the box, his hands resting on the closed flaps. _Not a scratch on them. Wouldn't want the boy to need stitches, but a few nasty gashes wouldn't have hurt for long._

"Well, Edward's making himself useful again. No concerns about allergies today." Charlie took the box, speaking as if Edward wasn't even there.

"Antihistamines are miracle drugs," Edward noted. A simple statement. A lie of omission.

"Dad, you want anything special for dinner tonight?" Bella asked. "I'll be home in plenty of time to cook." Bella scanned the contents of a cabinet, then opened the freezer.

"Dunno, I think that tuna smells pretty good. Maybe I'll stop and clean up my fish on the way home. We can throw them on the grill."

"Okay, I'll make a salad and fries." Bella was fumbling with things in the freezer.

"I better get started then," Charlie said, taking one last look at Edward.

"Later Bells," Charlie called over his shoulder as he opened the front door.

"Have fun, Dad," Bella replied. "Oh, wait," she said as she reached into the refrigerator. "You're forgetting your night crawlers."

Charlie turned to see Bella holding a container much like the one that was already in the cruiser. She smiled.

"I don't know how I could have forgotten them." Charlie seemed contrite.

Bella opened the tub and Charlie's eyes bulged. "This stinks and it's moldy. Looks like they've exceeded their useful shelf life," she said as she dropped the container in the trash. " You better stop and buy more or we'll be ordering pizza tonight."

Charlie looked relieved and a tad hopeful.

After Charlie left, Edward turned to Bella and asked, "So have you ever seen the movie _Tremors?"_

A/N: In the next chapter, Charlie is having a good day; it's sunny and Bella says Edward is away with his family. That means Charlie will have his daughter and his flat screen to himself. Or does it?


	3. Sharing

Disclaimer: The wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the world of Twilight and all its inhabitants. I just wanna play with her toys. No copyright infringement is intended.

***

**Designated Visiting Hours - Chapter 3: Sharing**

_A pretty good day._ Charlie's day would have been better, if his time on the river hadn't been cut short. Dealing with that pesky cat, making a run to the animal clinic and having to type a recommendation for a new pedestrian crosswalk had eaten into Charlie's free time. Still, there was nothing serious that demanded his attention. No traffic accidents. No trouble. The fact that Charlie had ended up stuck in his office for several hours was the only crime that had occurred in Forks.

Charlie turned down his street and braced himself, certain that when he got closer to the house he would see Edward's car sitting alongside the curb. A sad ending to a pretty good day. "No way," Charlie grunted. He was finally within eyeshot of home and the Volvo was nowhere to be seen. Charlie had developed a deep resentment of the shiny Volvo with its "integrated performance", which in his mind mocked his general ineptitude for family life. Without a healthy outlet, Charlie unconsciously transferred his self-loathing and discomfort to every entry-level luxury car that passed through town. Big city cops profiling black men had nothing on Charlie. He was after rich white boys. Boys like Edward.

Charlie would never have the _bank_ to buy a Volvo like the Cullen kid drove. It seemed like the delinquent, as Charlie had decided to think of Edward, was trying to rub Charlie's nose in something. Only Charlie was certain that Edward was going to be disappointed, because Charlie didn't give two figs about owning a Volvo. Cruising around town in a police car was about the best thing a man could ever do. Next to winning the B.A.S.S. Federation Western Divisional Championship, of course. And, if Charlie did have the thirty-plus grand to shell out on a decked-out Volvo S60R, he'd spend it on a good used bass boat that he'd trailer behind a new four-wheel drive Ford F-150. Ford's 1999 acquisition of Volvo's car division was the only negative factor in that equation. Still, there might be a little satisfaction in thinking_ 'my car company owns your car company'_.

Charlie slowed down and looked up and down the street carefully before he broke out in song ................ Such a feelin's comin' over me.............. There is wonder in 'most everything I see ............... Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eyes; and I won't be surprised if it's a dream................ Da da da....da da da da...dada..da da dadadada........ da da da...............

It finally occurred to Charlie that Edward had shown up that morning without a car. Charlie felt the sun fall out of the sky. _Damn._ He also remembered that Edward said he planned to change the oil in Bella's truck. "I can take care of my own daughter, you little creep," Charlie muttered aloud. He prayed all the way up into the driveway that Edward wasn't sitting in the kitchen leering at Bella or watching the TV. Charlie wished Edward were miles away. Miles and miles away. Mars sounded good. Sitting on Mars with his stupid car.

_Sorry, Charlie._

Charlie's good humor and plan to evade Bella's wrath by pretending to be nice were long gone. Charlie gulped the air and puffed out his cheeks. "Hey Bells! I'm home," Charlie yelled as he stepped into the house.

"Hi Dad," Bella responded from upstairs.

There wasn't any sign of the delinquent. "Where's Edward?" Charlie searched the stairwell. He hadn't specifically forbidden Edward from ever going upstairs, especially since the only bathroom was on the second floor, but he didn't want Bella and Edward up there at the same time.

Bella knew the deal. "Not here Dad." The truth was that Edward needed to hunt, and his siblings had convinced him to join their expedition to an area where a lack of predators had resulted in an overabundance of deer. Bella did not expect to see Edward until the following evening. "He's got other things to do besides come over and watch the trees grow with me."

"Not that I could ever tell," Charlie noted in a low voice.

"What was that, Dad? I couldn't hear you." Bella was standing at the top of the stairs, holding a basket of laundry.

"I said: did Edward change the oil while you were working?" Charlie thought up something quick as he walked into the kitchen for a beer.

"Yeah," Bella replied.

"My hero," Charlie groaned under his breath as pulled the tab on his beer can. Charlie admired the way the Cullens stuck together, although they didn't mix with the locals in Forks much. Maybe that was what predisposed Edward to willingly suffering Bella's restriction. Charlie wasn't the least bit enthused about the way Edward and Bella were practically glued together.

Charlie didn't even have a girlfriend in high school; he'd been too scared to really talk to them - girls. It was easier to go along with his friends and poke fun at them and try to sneak a peek during gym when they were wearing those stretchy one-piece uniforms. By the time Charlie graduated from high school, he was pretty certain that most girls belonged to another species and they were meant for guys who were outgoing and super athletic. Later, he discovered that the police uniform could be used to hook a girl. However, until Renee came along, his approach to women was catch and release, just like his fishing expedition this morning. Women confounded Charlie; they were moody and too unpredictable, and they'd take off on you every chance they got.

Bella walked into the kitchen with an empty basket. "Where's our fish?"

"I couldn't get anything on the line except a couple of bull trout. Log jam must have given way up river; the water was fast and muddy. Anyway, I only had a couple of hours on the river before I needed to take care of something down at the station that I forgot about yesterday." He had forgotten that he was supposed to deliver the fish for grilling, too. Seemed forgetfulness was becoming a new way of life. "I'll order a pizza."

"Don't bother. I can make a microwave casserole." _Bella was always nice. Doing laundry. Cooking. Nice. _Charlie was at the end of his rope.

"Is Edward coming over again?" 'Cause if he is, m_aybe I can think of some way to keep him away. Maybe I'll get 'sick' and lay out out on the couch with a cloth over my forehead and tell Bella it would be better if we didn't have visitors._

"I don't think so. He went hiking with his family; they probably have a back country permit to camp." Bella began staring out a window into the trees. Buying yearly passes and permits to access the local recreational areas was part of keeping up the facáde.

_Yeah, it was a great day! _The ditty Charlie had been singing came back. _"...not a cloud in the sky, da da dadada da...."_ Even though the words eluded him, the song brought back good memories. He could hear his mother singing as she she opened a box of Christmas ornaments. The house smelled like pine and gingerbread. He was about nine.

Charlie was unwilling to let go of the the happy memory. _I wonder if Bella knows how to make gingerbread? _"Yup, a fantastic day," Charlie said loudly. It had been weeks since anyone in Forks had seen the sky. "For hiking," he added.

"I guess it was a nice day to get outdoors," Bella said, but she sounded as if she didn't really care. Restricting Bella to the house was supposed to be punishment, but Bella didn't mind at all. As long as she saw Edward every day, she was content to sit at home. "A lot of people came into the store looking for trail shoes and hydration packs."

Charlie spent hours trying to figure out how to get rid of Edward. Not literally, of course, but the thought of shooting Edward's bony behind and leaving the carcass in the woods for wild animals was appealing. Hell, there were plenty of places on the Olympic Peninsula where a corpse could be hidden. Olympic National Park covered over 1,400 square miles and that included about 60 miles of cliffs and beaches. Lots of places to leave a body where it might never be found. Tourists and tree-hugging kooks disappeared from time to time. Locals only cared about keeping that kind of thing out of the papers and off the internet. _Bad for business._

The bottom line was that Charlie was scared. He wasn't afraid of Edward or having to cover up a murder. He was afraid of a snip of a teenage girl. The fact that Edward was allowed to visit the house at all proved beyond any doubt that Charlie was truly petrified of Bella. Could there be anything more dangerous than a teenaged girl? The potential for catastrophe was never far.

Charlie felt his good day fading faster than the sun dropping over the Pacific. "Yeah, it was a beautiful day. Not too many days like this around here." _Maybe taking Bella to dinner would be a good idea._ "Let's go out and eat. Grab your jacket."

"O-kay?" Bella sounded unsure. "Going out won't violate the terms of my house arrest?"

"Let's say you're getting a furlough," Charlie muttered, surprised and pleased by the interest he saw in Bella's face. We'll cruise the restaurants and see which one is the least crowded" _Damn, she's still staring out the window? Probably hoping Edward will save her from spending too much time with an old man._

"Can we take the truck?" Bella ventured. "You don't need to be listening in on everything that's said over that police radio, you know."

Charlie knew that Bella hated riding in the patrol car as much as he loved driving it. Charlie almost changed his mind about going out, but there was nothing on the sports channels, and he hoped taking Bella out for dinner might encourage her to think about something besides Edward. "Maybe we could see a movie in Port Angeles?" As far as listening to law enforcement or fire and rescue radio frequencies went, Charlie was prepared for a drive to Port Angeles in the truck; since the local jurisdictions couldn't afford to upgrade to frequency hopping equipment, his old Radio Shack portable hand-held scanner still worked just fine.

Bella shook her head and said, "Let's stay in Forks."

"Aw, come on, when was the last time you went to a movie with your old man?" Charlie realized he wasn't going to get anywhere.

A funny smile crept across Bella's face. "That was probably the documentary we saw at the Mount St. Helen's Visitors Center when I was nine," Bella said.

"Um, well, maybe we're overdue," Charlie offered. He hoped Bella had memories, something that made her feel safe and loved, like the one he had of one of his mother decorating the house for Christmas. Sadly, Charlie suspected that Bella didn't have as many as she should have had.

Bella wasn't buying into the idea of driving to Port Angeles. "I haven't eaten since breakfast. Let's stay in town. Forget Port Angeles." Bella wouldn't have agreed to go anywhere, if she had known Edward had been waiting for an opportunity to approach the house when Charlie had arrived.

"Okay, I give up. Let's go to the diner" Charlie reached for a jacket and caught the smell of sweat, fish and beer on his shirt. "Let me change. Need thirty minutes tops." Charlie headed upstairs, as a new plan to monopolize Bella's next free weekend with a father/daughter trip of come kind began to form.

In the meantime, the sun had set and Edward was coming up with a scheme of his own. He hadn't been able to bear the thought of being so far from Bella; so despite the merciless teasing he was sure to get from his brothers and Rosalie, he had jumped from the Mercedes when they got close to the the Hood Canal Bridge. If his plan for the evening was successful, the taunting of his siblings would be a small price to pay. Edward dropped out of his tree and took off toward his house; maybe he could pick-up his car and scoot back into town before Charlie and Bella made it to the diner.

***

Charlie watched Bella down shift the old Chevy: depressing the clutch pedal and sliding the gear shift into neutral to sync the transmission and the engine before releasing the pedal; and then pushing the clutch in again, moving the gear shift into second, and finally releasing the clutch pedal. Old trucks and big manual semis without synchronization had to be double clutched or double pumped like that. Charlie had been annoyed to learn Edward knew how to drive a vehicle with a manually shifted transmission, particularly one like the C-10. It was a skill young drivers seldom acquired anymore.

Bella tugged the turn signal with a pinkie as they approached an intersection. She glanced into the mirrors, scanning the road. Before the truck had come to a complete stop, Bella leaned forward and turned her head from side to side, looking for oncoming traffic. She was a conscientious driver.

Edward watched the truck stop. On the other occasions when he had been able to watch Bella drive closely, he'd failed to notice her manner of careful and deliberate operation. Maybe he distracted her. Edward smiled.

"Dad?" Bella said, trying to get Charlie's attention. "What are you singing?"

"Huh?" Charlie was embarrassed. He didn't realize he'd been humming. "Oh, it's.... I was thinking about your grandmother. She liked that song."

"Um, I don't remember them... much," Bella remarked.

Charlie shrugged in reply, feeling the heavy old pick-up straining. He thought Bella slipped the adverb onto the end of the sentence as a kindness. Charlie doubted she would have any concrete memories of his parents. They died young, just like his grandparents had. Bella and Charlie were silent for several blocks.

"Are you sure you want to eat at the diner?" Bella asked watching several approaching several cars. She bit her lip as she stepped on the gas.

"Well, whatever suits you; I can eat anything."

"And you usually do. You should let me make your lunch more often instead of getting snacks out of the machine at work."

Charlie wasn't listening, because there, ahead, was the diner, and parked in diner parking lot, was Edward's car. It didn't look like Edward was off camping with his family, after all. _Oh, you are so busted, Edward. _Charlie could see that Bella had Edward wrapped around her little finger, so he didn't worry about escorting Bella into a scene where she'd catch Edward with another girl. He did believe, however, that Bella's delinquent was probably enjoying a night out with boys. Watching the kid explain why he was in Forks when he supposed to be camping would be a lot of fun.

"On second thought, Bella, I would like to go to the diner," Charlie said. In an ideal world Bella would be too preoccupied with watching moving traffic to notice the Volvo, but they were in Forks and the chances of the parking lot ever being so crowded that you couldn't see every vehicle parked there were zero.

"Oh, wow, Edward's here," Bella almost sung, as she maneuvered the truck off the street. "I guess his family made their hiking trip short."

"Are you sure that's his car?" Charlie tossed the question.

Bella reply was a tad short. "I know Edward's car by now."

"Maybe the Cullens changed their minds about making an overnight; it's still early in the spring for most backpackers. The temps are still down in the mid-thirties at night," Charlie offered. "They haven't been back all that long either and are probably still getting settled in, so the gear they would need might still be packed." It was the time of the year when youth groups, tired of winter bowling and library events returned to the forest, where they invariably misplaced a child. Usually the straggler was found on the trail, but the absence occasionally necessitated an overnight search.

By all accounts, the Cullens spent enough time enjoying the outdoors, that should know their way around, still Charlie couldn't help but find fun in thinking about the Cullens losing Edward somewhere in the mountains. Charlie was entertaining himself with the thought of finding a dishevelled and shivering Edward the morning after he had wandered off the trail while Bella wasted no time bouncing out of the truck and stumbling into another car. Edward appeared out of nowhere. _Blasted kid! _First it's forgetfulness and now the eyesight is starting to go.

"Edward," Charlie said. "Heard you were camping this weekend." Watching Bella and Edward grin at each other was making the beer in Charlie stomach curdle like sour milk.

"My dad had patients at the hospital." That was true, but not particularly relevant. Carlisle always had patients. Edward reached for Bella's hand. "Hey."

"Well, if you're heading out, don't let us hold you up." Charlie latched onto Bella's elbow, guiding her toward the restaurant. "Bella's starving." How convenient that Edward had managed to exit the diner before Bella could see him hanging out with his buddies. Charlie held the door for Bella. He looked back at Edward and said, "See you."

"I'm retrieving something from the car," Edward said to Bella. "I'll only be a moment."

Charlie faltered when Edward pulled a woman's small sweater from the Volvo. _If you are out with another girl, you are a dead man. _Suddenly the idea of being sick enough to lay on the couch with a cold rag was more than an idle plan to keep Edward away from the house. Charlie felt like he was going to puke. "Bella,ah..." Charlie looked pained.

Charlie had barely stepped into the diner before he heard someone say, "Bella! You and your father should sit with us." Esme Cullen was wrapping an arm around Bella. Charlie wanted to groan. It seemed he was going to be sharing his daughter's company over dinner with Edward and his parents.

"Please do," Edward added. When Edward sprinted home, he had asked Carlisle and Esme to join him at the diner; he was surprised by Esme's enthusiasm for the idea, although Carlisle had been reluctant.

"Charlie." Carlisle stood and acknowledged Bella's father with a nod. "Edward, grab another chair."

Edward handed his mother the sweater and kissed her on the cheek.

"Carlisle. Esme. How have you been?" Charlie could be polite, too.

"Good, thank you," Carlisle replied. "How's work?"

"It's good. I mean, we aren't too busy. No murders. No missing persons." _In fact, your son here is the only person in any danger in Forks tonight, _Charlie thought.

Charlie traded casual conversatin with Carlisle while he watched Bella. She blushed and smiled as Esme gently brushed Bella's hair behind her ear. Charlie was surprised; his daughter hated being the center of attention, yet her she was clearly soaking up Esme's ministrations.

"It's so nice to see you, sweetheart,' Esme whispered. "We've missed you."

"I've missed you, too." Bella said looking around.

When Edward grasped Bella's hand, Carlisle reached over to pat their hands and smiled lovingly at his wife. "So you folks are here for dinner?" Charlie asked.

"Just picking up dessert," Edward stated as the waitress carried over three large to-go cups.

"Two chocolate and one strawberry," the waitress said, placing the milkshakes on the table with a few straws. "Hey, Chief. What can I get for you and Bella?"

"I'll have a salad," Bella answered. "Italian dressing on the side."

"And you Chief?"

"Just a burger tonight. Lettuce. Tomato and Mayo. And bring me one of those shakes. Vanilla."

"What would you like to drink, Bella." The waitress scribbled on her pad.

"Water, please." Bella smiled and added, "I'm going to steal some of Edward's strawberry milkshake." Bella shoved Edward with her shoulder and grabbed at the cup.

"I don't know. This is probably the best milkshake in the whole world," Edward said, pushing the straw between his teeth. His lips closed around it.

When Edward proffered the milkshake and the straw to Bella, Charlie closed his eyes to keep from rolling them. He opened his eyes to see Edward staring at Bella's pursed lips as she sucked on the straw._ Ugh, they might as well be kissing right here on the table. _Charlie struggled to maintain the conversation with Carlisle and Esme until the food finally arrived and the Cullens excused themselves. Charlie sighed, maybe now he could get some time alone with his daughter.

"Dad, can Edward come over and watch a movie with us?" Four pairs of eyes turned to Charlie.

"Sure, of course, Bella." Charlie was to afraid to say anything else. Afraid to do anything but return the silly grin everyone else was wearing.

"I'll see you later then," Edward said to Bella before he kissed her hand.

***

*** "Top of the World" was written by John Carpenter and John Bettis. The song was released as a country single by Lynn Anderson and rose to number two on the country charts. The pop version, recorded and released by the Carpenters, was the number one song in the U.S. on Dec. 1, 1973, according to Billboard. No copyright infringement is intended.

***Bull trout is an endangered species of fish.

A/N: In the next chapter, Charlie's livid; Bella left something at LaPush and Jacob turned it over to Charlie. Bella's going to wish she could kill Jacob when she finds out what he did.


	4. Secrets

Disclaimer: The wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the world of Twilight and all its inhabitants. I just wanna play with her toys. No copyright infringement is intended.

***

**Designated Visiting Hours - Chapter 4: Secrets**

Charlie sat down at the table, pushing his chair back on two legs; he picked up a soda can. It was warm. Inwardly, he shrugged and took a sip. _Eh, so what._ The sweet carbonated beverage had gone flat. Charlie swished the fluid around like it was mouthwash. He wanted to spit. Charlie sat the can down and grabbed his newspaper.

An article related that an investigation of a nationally-ranked high school basketball team revealed that the coaches violated amateur athletic competition rules by providing several players, who didn't live in the school district, with documents that indicated the athletes did. Charlie figured that rule-breaking coaches were more interested in winning tournaments and capturing the attention of colleges that might pay six-figure salaries than in helping young people excel in sports and learn to work as a team. _Rule-breakers. They're everywhere._ _Evil doers._

Charlie really tried to read the article, but it couldn't divert his attention from the microwave display that flashed the current time at him. He looked at his watch. The microwave's clock was three minutes slow.

Bella's shift at Newton's ended at three o'clock. Allowing for the speed limit, Saturday afternoon shoppers clogging the streets of Forks - _okay, so clogging is an exaggeration_ - three traffic signals and six stop signs meant that the drive should only take thirty minutes - tops. And that meant that _Bella_ was five minutes late.

Edward didn't think he'd ever sensed Charlie's thoughts this far from the house before. Charlie's mind didn't often shout.

_When Bella gets home, I'm... I'm... I'm...I'm gonna do something . . . for a change._

Edward wondered if he should warn Bella, but Bella was spouting off about Jacob Black and Edward wasn't entirely sure what Charlie was upset about yet. He inched the car forward slowly and tried to respond to Bella's tirade appropriately, avoiding the thought that she was whining over some other male.

**"Nobody hates you," **Edward said. _But, somebody sure is mad at you._

Charlie was livid. _Underestimated her again, _he thought_. _Charlie went back to pondering the meaning of the words _designated visiting hours,_ as he fiddled with the stainless steel handcuff key on the ring laying on the table. Charlie found that his list of words and phrases that were euphemisms for Bella...and Edward's...punishment was lacking.

_Aiding and abetting_. _Complicity. Recklessness. Willful disregard. _Charlie was certain that no matter what Bella had done, Edward Cullen was responsible. _Culpable._

When Bella took off for Phoenix last year, Charlie had been forced to consider that Bella carried at least some of her mother's reactionary tendencies and the propensity to simply runaway when life got tough. _Women._

Of course, Charlie wasn't particularly proud of his own behavior. He stood around with his hands in his pockets mumbling when he should have been putting his foot down with Bella. _Wuss. _Charlie wanted to kick something. Himself mostly. He had abdicated his parental authority when he should have been in control. Instead of stopping Bella from driving to Phoenix, he had let her go in the middle of the night. Instead of managing the situation, he'd been surprised to discover that Edward and his father had followed Bella to Phoenix. He had even let Carlisle arrange to get Bella and her truck back to Forks. _Incompetence is my middle name, _he thought.

Despite Charlie's concerns, he truly believed Bella's flighty behavior had been an anomaly, and her reaction to Edward's sudden abandonment reaffirmed Charlie's feelings that Bella was more steadfast in her affections than was Renee.

Charlie held to the notion that a relationship with someone like Jacob Black, or even the Newton boy, might mean that Bella would want to build her adult life in Forks. Although Charlie had seriously questioned Bella's emotional health when she shut down after the delinquent moved, Charlie had been more than a little pleased to see that Bella was gradually opening up to Jacob, his best friend's son.

Charlie believed that the Bella's friendship with Jacob had drawn her from the melancholy that had possessed her. Never once did Charlie consider that Bella, or Jacob for that matter, might be engaging in anything careless or dangerous until Bella disappeared, leaving a only a vague note of apology on the day of Harry Clearwater's funeral.

Bella's return heralded the reappearance of the Cullen family, apparently ending the growing closeness that Charlie had observed between Bella and Jacob. Charlie was relieved that Bella was making an attempt to maintain contact with Jacob. In fact, Charlie was downright thrilled that Bella concealed her phone calls to Jacob from Edward by calling Jacob's house only after Edward had left the house at night. Charlie had hoped that forbidding Bella to go to LaPush would make her see how important Jacob had become to her. He had even convinced Billy Black to help egg Jacob on by telling him things that suggested that Cullen was the reason Bella had not been to LaPush and suggesting that Jacob not take Bella's calls.

Inside the Volvo, Edward was struggling to contain his thoughts and handle Bella's sulking.

**"...I don't know if I could stop it before I k... Before I hurt him. You'd be unhappy. I don't want that to happen."**

Bella didn't respond immediately, but Edward could feel the fire that smoldering. She started with a whisper. **"Edward Cullen, were you about to say 'killed' him? Were you?"** She ended with a low growl.

Edward winced and nudged the accelerator.

**"I would try...very hard...not to do that."**

Charlie began to relive the events that triggered the firestorm. Charlie knew that Jacob wasn't taking or returning Bella's calls, so his initial reaction to seeing Jacob through the window had been elation. The excitement was short-lived. As soon as Charlie opened the door fully, the sight of mud splatter on Jacob's clothing told Charlie something was amiss.

Charlie stepped out on the porch. What he saw made him suck in a sharp breath: a fire engine red motorcycle was parked next to Charlie's beloved police cruiser.

"Jacob, does Billy know you've been riding around on that... thing?" Charlie stared at the motorcycle like it was a half-dead dog laying on the side of the road. Something that needed to be put out of its misery. The image of an injured hound, its limbs splayed in odd angles, filled Charlie's mind.

"Not exactly."

"It's not even tagged to be on the street." Charlie wondered if it was insured, his mind lingering over the image of the panting dog.

Well, I'm kinda like just dropping it off." Jacob looked at the ground. "And, well... it belongs to Bella."

Charlie looked at his watch again, stood and walked out into the living room to check the clock on the wall. According to the time piece, Bella was ten minutes late. _Don't look at that one again. Makes it seem even worse._

Charlie returned to his seat in the kitchen, where he alternated between shuffling the various items on the table, drumming his fingers and peeking at the time displayed on his watch and on the microwave. Another minute passed.

Two minutes.

_When Bella gets home, I'm gonna . . . . kill her._

Three minutes.

Four minutes . . . and fifteen seconds elapsed before Charlie heard the Volvo's fuel-injected three-hundred horse power engine purring outside the house.

It took eleven more seconds for the delinquent to decide to stop wasting fuel and kill the engine. _Bet he never lets Bella drive. Three-hundred horses. Yikes, if she said she wanted to drive he'd let her do any fool thing she wanted to do._

Edward visualized the mangled panting mutt from Charlie's thoughts, realized it had its own thoughts and that they sounded distinctly like the memories of a mangy werewolf.

Jacob had weighed delivering the motorcycle to Charlie for over a week, so the decision to reiterate the terms of the treaty between the tribe and the Cullens seemed like a sign that Jacob's plan to separate Bella from her would-be captor would work.

Jacob wondered if he should feel guilty for ratting Bella out. _Nah. _He was pretty sure his revelation had had its intended effect: Bella was in hot water, and even if Charlie didn't say it, Charlie had to blame the very bloodsucker Jacob wanted to get into trouble. _Charlie's gonna ground Bella practically for life. She'll be legal to buy beer before Charlie let's her loose with Cullen again._

Of course, Jacob had assumed that Charlie wouldn't blame him for Bella's transgressions. He figured that Charlie might chalk Jacob's participation up to youthful naiveté or a teenaged boy's desire to impress a girl - _the girl_. Charlie wasn't buying that crap, so it appeared that Jacob was going to be barred from the Swan residence. Additionally, Charlie had warned Jacob that before he could get home, Billy would know to what ends Jacob had been applying his mechanical skills.

Jacob was disappointed. He didn't feel the happiness that he imagined he would derive from spoiling the bloodsucker's plan to . . . _monopolize_ Bella's time. Actually, monopolize hadn't been't among the verbs that first came to Jacob's mind, but it was the least harmful; the one he could have said aloud, if someone made him do it.

Edward wasn't happy, either. Bella was staring at him and the last thing he really wanted at that moment was to add to Bella's discomfort. **"You're already in more trouble, Bella."**

Edward shamefully noted that he was relieved that he couldn't read Bella's thoughts today; between Jacob's self-righteousness, Charlie's barely controlled fury and his own conflicted feelings, Edward knew he couldn't have stomached Bella's panic, too. _Coward._ Edward took a deep breath.

**"Charlie..." **_Breath, Bella._** "Charlie... is probably not going to kill you, but he's thinking about it."**

_Monumental lapse of judgement. Outright stupidity. _Charlie was certain that neither he nor Bella would ever see any male on their doorstep again. _Not if I have to put bricks over the doors and bars on the windows._

Edward could have parked his car directly in front of the house and avoided Jacob completely; Edward didn't need to talk to Jacob Black directly to know that he had made this visit with the intent of delivering a message from the pack, but Edward thought dealing with Jacob and the pack as quickly as possible would be better for all concerned.

Edward also wanted Bella to see that he was going to be mature about the Jacob situation, plus Edward thought that Jacob needed to see and hear that Bella was not under some kind of unnatural influence. Selfishly, he hoped that Jacob would see that Bella had picked Edward, despite what he was. Despite his errors and flaws, Bella wanted Edward. _**She said yes to me.**_

Edward had not expected that Jacob would read Bella's reaction to the reminder that biting a human was forbidden under the treaty. Bella's intimation that she was wanted to be what Edward was had escalated the intensity of the encounter.

Edward was wounded. He had underestimated Bella . . . again. For Jacob to know Bella well enough to have been able to read her expression and understand the meaning behind her words, Bella and Jacob had to have grown closer than Edward had surmised. Undeniably, Bella had said yes to Jacob Black, at least on some level, too; and even though Edward knew that his own actions had been the catalyst for whatever that yes was, seeing the result firsthand was painful.

The dualities between wanting Bella forever and rejecting any action that caused her harm, and between intellectually understanding that his leaving had consequences and feeling the effects of those consequences left Edward reeling. He realized that he was watching Bella and Jacob tear down the relationship they had built and redraw its boundaries. The fact that Edward had emerged the apparent victor was little consolation when he looked into Bella's face, her features tarnished by hurt and anger. Edward had the urge to "fix" . . . somthing, but he was emotionally incapable of doing anything other than trying to escape.

**"Bella! You get in the house this instant!** Suddenly, Charlie had become Edward's unlikely rescuer.

Charlie figured that Jacob was still outside the house and that was the only thing that stopped him from charging outside and demanding that Bella get in the house. There was no doubt in Charlie's mind that Jacob deserved Charlie's wrath too, but he knew Billy would skewer Jacob for his involvement with the motorcycle. At the moment, Charlie wanted to focus on Bella and Edward.

It had been almost three weeks since Cullen had re-materialized in Forks. Charlie spent a lot of that time trying to figure out how he could facilitate Bella making the decision to reduce her dependence on the boy. He and his family were part of a different world. A world were money made picking up and moving without a second glance possible and maybe even probable. A world were a teenage girl was bound to be hurt again.

**"Bella, I can see his car and I know you're out there! If you aren't inside this house in one minute..." **Charlie's stomach churned. He walked back into the kitchen and yanked a drawer open and then slammed it shut. Charlie grabbed the dish towel on the counter and threw it on top of the microwave so that the display was removed from his sight.

Charlie pursed his lips and lifted his wrist. Bella's "one minute" was up; Charlie opened the front door.

**"Isabella Swan!"**Charlie sucked air deep into his chest and exhaled, letting his words reverberate inside his chest in the menacing manner only a police officer or a drill sergeant could muster.

One one-thousand. Two one-thousand. Three-one thousand. _Damn! I. Can't. Believe. She's. Going. To. Make. Me. Drag. Her. In. Here_.

When Charlie saw Bella and Edward moving toward the house, he stepped away from the door. He had already broadcast his displeasure to the entire neighborhood, but he wanted to let Bella and her delinquent wonder what might be awaiting them inside the house. Edward stepped up on the porch behind Bella. He bent forward and reached for the door. He pulled it open for Bella, who marched resolutely into the foyer, but stopped short, barely allowing Edward sufficient room to close the door behind himself.

Charlie glared. "In the kitchen," he barked as he wheeled away from the couple.

Charlie heard Bella shuffle toward the specified destination, but couldn't detect Edward's footfall. _Sneaky little prick. _Charlie had decided that tightening Bella's restriction on the grounds that hiding the motorcycle at La Push, even if she hadn't been riding it recently, was a crime that deserved a more stringent punishment and, correspondingly, a stiffer sentence than she was now serving. _Consecutive sentences. Fifteen to life._

Charlie was ready to lynch Bella and Edward the second they set foot in the kitchen. Charlie noted that the arm that had been wrapped protectively around Bella when they walked in the house, had not moved.

"Edward, I want to see your hands. In your pockets. In the air. Or folded in prayer. I don't care. I just want to see your hands anyplace but on Bella."

Charlie saw Edward hesitate. _I know you can move faster than that, Edward._ Charlie seethed.

Edward pulled his arm back, moving his hand to the small of Bella's back. He hoped that by standing slightly to the left and behind Bella he could conceal his noncompliance from Charlie. Bella was shaking more than she had been at anytime when they were in Voltera and he was afraid of letting her go; but the truth was that Edward needed a direct physical connection to remind him that he was there to support Bella, not to interfere.

"Ch-Dad. Let me explain," Bella begged. Charlie shushed her, so Bella settled for opening her mouth and gulping air.

"You don't have a license to drive a motorcycle. You don't have insurance and you will definitely never get my permission to own a motorcycle."

Bella tried to speak, but the effort was wasted.

Charlie began quoting statistics and describing the scenes of several fatal motorcycle accident that Charlie had investigated. ". . . I had to call out the fire department to get the blood washed off the street.'

Charlie stopped his macabre soliloquy and screwed up his face. "Stitches," Charlie spat, as he popped an antacid into his mouth. "Just how many times have you come in here with stitches, young lady. Do you really think I'll believe you tripped over something in Jacob's garage now?"

Bella shifted uncomfortably and took the opportunity to speak. "Actually, I do have a motorcycle endorsement, insurance and everything, Dad. I'm not stupid. I am your daughter and you did teach me to obey the law."

"Well, it looks like I didn't teach you to obey your parents. You can't even take the test for the license without parental permission."

"Eighteen, Dad. I'm eighteen."

Charlie finally stopped yelling and stared. His face was beet red. Edward hadn't been in a room filled with as much human emotion and blood scent since he'd dragged Emmett out of shady Seattle club, where he was taunting a group of weekend-warrior-Monday through Friday-accountant biker types. He stopped breathing and stood stiffly beside Bella as he waited for the air to settle.

Something in Bella's expression triggered a memory that Charlie had never re-lived in Edward's presence.

Charlie was listening to Bella walk - no - pace the floor above. The wooden boards groaned on every third or fourth step. Charlie checked his watch. _Six-thirty in the morning and she's already pacing. I wonder if she even slept last night. _Then the recollection faded, replaced by the vision of Bella's room, stripped bare of books and personal mementos. He thought, _If I can figure out which floorboard is making all that racket, maybe . . . I . . . Bella . . . maybe we won't have to hear that noise._

Charlie walked slowly; the floorboards moaned. He stepped back to the area from which he believed the sound emanated and shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he listened closely. Satisfied that he had identified the offending board, he pulled a nail from his pocket and knelt.

_maybe . . . I won't have to think about Bella pacing up and down all night._

Charlie's guilt made him pause and he began comparing the scuff marks on the floor until he noticed what appeared to be pry marks on one end of an adjacent floorboard. He put his hand on the plank and leaned forward. The board was tight and didn't give under his weight. Still, Charlie's curiosity surged and instead of silencing the floorboard that had drawn him to Bella's room in the first place, he used his hammer to pull the suspicious board from the floor.

Charlie replaced the board almost as soon as his mind registered what his eyes beheld: tangible reminders of Bella's failed love. On top of a small stack of various items was a a photograph Charlie had made of Bella and Edward only a few days before Edward had moved without warning. They both looked sad, despite the fake smiles they wore for the camera. Charlie realized he had conveniently ignored the pain that had clearly touched his daughter's face on the day the photo had been taken, and he sadly admitted that Edward had not been the only one who had left Bella to deal with her pain alone.

Edward moved his hand back to Bella's waist and pulled her closer. The movement magnified Charlie's guilt. He wondered if Bella had retrieved the photos from the spot where she had hidden them or if she had eventually destroyed them like the CDs she'd thrown into the trash.

Charlie looked around the kitchen at the fading yellow cabinets Reneé had painted years ago. If Charlie hadn't purchased the microwave, the only addition he had made to the kitchen in all those years, Charlie would have been without a kitchen clock when the plastic owl clock that hung on the wall and ran on two AA batteries gave out. He'd left it hanging there next to a calendar, where he marked the passage of time with a pencil.

_Ten hours and fifteen minutes._

_One week, three days and seven minutes._

_Six weeks, four days and eleven minutes._

_Nine months, two days and thirty-six minutes._

_Four years, five months, sixteen days and five minutes._

_Ten years._

_They are never coming back._

_Time's up._

"Bella, in my opinion, your friends let you pretty much do whatever you want to do, even if it's dangerous; so from now until the end of the year, I am going to supervise your designated visiting hours more closely. Edward will be allowed to visit between seven and nine-thirty, but there'll be no more rides to or from school or work or the library. And if it happens that I have to work late, visiting hours will be cancelled for the evening. Sorry."

Bella didn't say a word, but she swallowed hard and looked at Charlie.

"Edward, I trust we'll see you at seven."

"Ahh, yes sir, I'll be here," Edward replied.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, I've got fishing gear to clean. Bella, show Edward the door on your way to your room."

"Right, Dad. Edward's leaving and I'm going to my room." Bella gritted her teeth and looked at Edward.

"You'll be back?" she asked.

"I'll be right here." And he was.

While Charlie was becoming one with an old brass bait casting reel that needed some attention, Bella slowly dragged herself up the stairs. By the time Bella made it to her room Edward was sitting on her bed, glad he'd remembered to fix that squeaky floor the day he came back to her.

***

A/N: In the next chapter, Charlie brought a scary movie home, but he got there late, and tonight, tormenting Edward is more of a headache than it is worth.


	5. Movie Night

Disclaimer: The wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the world of Twilight and all its inhabitants. I just wanna play with her toys. No copyright infringement is intended.

***

**Designated Visiting Hours - Chapter 5: Movie Night**

_Designated visiting hours._ To Charlie, the term meant that his little girl wasn't going anywhere, at least not that night. He cut the engine and looked around the interior of the cruiser. He collected a couple of gum wrappers, balled them up and stuck them inside his pocket, sneaking a peak into the rear view mirror.

The Volvo was still there. _Hmpf_. Charlie hadn't really expected the car would disappear, but it didn't hurt to wish.

Charlie had been late three time this week, each day arriving closer and closer to seven o'clock, the time Charlie's own punishment began. The time when Edward Cullen was allowed his daily supervised visit to the Swan residence.

When Charlie set the hours, seven to nine-thirty p.m., he'd intended to be home well before Edward would even think about putting in an appearance. But work got in the way and here Charlie was again, sitting in his own driveway, in front of his own house, thinking about the dinner he would have to stomach while he watched Bella make goo-goo eyes at her delinquent.

_Life isn't fair._

Edward's unfailing politeness plucked Charlie's nerves, and Edward's strict adherence to the rules - as least as far as Charlie could tell - was an outrage. _Just once._ Charlie hoped he would catch Edward fleeing his porch at least once, giving him an excuse to ban him from the house for the rest of the school year.

Charlie shrugged. Banning Edward would create a battle he'd have to fight with Bella, who'd stated in no uncertain terms that she was perfectly willing to move out. Charlie assumed that one of Bella's friends, maybe even the Cullens, would agree to put her up until graduation, so banning Edward for a lengthy period couldn't be considered.

_Just a week. Yeah, just a week . . . or two._ That was all Charlie needed: _a little time to breathe. Long enough to get past the prom._

Charlie checked his watch. He'd managed to sit in the police car long enough to start eating into Edward's time. Charlie grinned, wondering how long it would be before Cullen would jump out of his car and knock on Charlie's window. He chuckled at the thought and imagined what he would say.

_Impatient tonight, Edward? It's not like you didn't see Bella today at school. You know, a reliable informant told me that you two practically huddled together all day. Didn't have much to say to anyone else. You two planning to commit another crime of some kind? 'Cause I could go ahead an' lock you up now . . ._

Edward had been compiling a list of recently released music that he wanted to order, but Charlie's mental sniping was distracting. Edward fought the urge to get out of the car. Charlie didn't know what he was doing, but . . . _Darned, Charlie's mind is getting a little louder and sounding more like Rosalie's every day._

Charlie thought that seeing the delinquent sitting in front of the house was like watching a buzzard circling around waiting for whatever the coyote didn't get. Sooner or later that coyote was going to have to move on - same as Charlie. And that dirty old buzzard was gonna swoop down to get what wasn't his to take - same as Edward.

_Guess I can't avoid getting on in the house,_ Charlie thought when he noticed Bella peeking through a window.

Charlie wondered if Edward had fallen asleep, since there wasn't any sign of movement from the car. There wasn't even any music.

Charlie took a deep breath and shoved the door open. Before he had taken three steps toward the house, Edward was on Charlie's heels. _Geez, how does he do that?_

"Good evening, Charlie."

"Edward." Charlie refused to look at Edward. _You're really annoying. No wonder your family sends you out every night._

_My sister, Rosalie, shares your sentiments_, Edward thought. _A little more like Rosalie with each passing day._

Bella flung the front door open in time to keep either man from having to say anything else - at least out loud.

"Food's getting cold, Dad."

"Everything okay otherwise?"

"Yeah, Ch - Dad. What could be wrong?"

"I dunno. Homework. School. _Maybe that crime spree you're planning's got you spooked? _Your truck? Is it running okay?" Charlie was not running okay. He was running out of things to say to Bella to keep her attention off her delinquent for a few more minutes.

"Yeah, Dad it's fine."

And that was that.

"Well, I'm gonna change and wash up. Don't reheat this . . . this?" Charlie wasn't looking at the table or the plate Bella had set out; he was watching Edward standing quietly by the kitchen door, like he was in line at the water fountain.

"Meatloaf. You know, hamburger, onion soup mix, sausage and italian bread crumbs?"

"Well, doesn't sound like its something that needs reheating to me," Charlie mumbled.

End of conversation.

Charlie climbed the stairs, pausing to listen to what was being said in the kitchen.

"Miss me?" Bella cooed.

_I hate it when she talks to him like that,_ Charlie thought.

"You know I did."

_I know you've got your hands on her . . . _Charlie shook his head.

_What else would I be doing?_ Edward thought.

_Ugh. _The momentary stillness suggested that Edward had more than his hands on Bella. _Yuck!_

Edward laughed. "Did you finish that essay you started writing in class?"

"Yes, almighty editor. It's ready and waiting for your perusal."

_At least he wants her to go to college. I guess I can't find any fault in that._

However, Charlie wasn't going to let Bella go anyplace with Cullen, if he could help it.

Especially the prom. Of course, Charlie wanted to make it look - at least in Bella's eyes - like he was willing to negotiate. Like he was being a reasonable dad. So he let it 'slip' that if she wanted to go, he was be perfectly willing to drive her. Edward would simply have to meet her there.

_Nah, not gonna happen. _Charlie didn't think that Bella was going to ask about going to the prom. Bella was abiding by the terms of her restriction fairly well and didn't kick up a fuss when Charlie had used the existence of the motorcycle to tighten the reins. Besides, Bella hated dancing and dressing up anyway, but Edward was a wild card.

Last year, one date with Edward Cullen had sent Bella running and screaming back to Phoenix, where she managed to get pretty well busted up.

Charlie wasn't sure what to do when Bella got back to Forks. Bella said she liked the boy, but she also expressed her fear of getting too attached. Charlie considered forcing Bella to move to Florida with her mother, but Billy Black convinced Charlie that Bella had reached an age when girls needed their fathers to keep an eye on things. Things like overly persistent, persuasive suitors.

"You won't know what or who is hanging around, if Bella goes back to Florida," Billy warned.

Charlie knew that Billy didn't like the Cullens one iota, so Charlie wondered if Billy was trying to suggest that the kid would follow Bella to Florida, if she moved. The boy had followed her to Phoenix. The thought made him shiver.

_I should have sent Bella to Jacksonville._

In the end, Charlie took Billy's recommendation to set visiting hours and curfews.

"Restriction might create some constructive limits that would allow Bella time alone. Figure things by herself. No pressure," Billy offered.

Bella was adjusting to those new visiting hours and the curfew that Charlie set when Edward asked if he could take her to the prom. Charlie's gut was screaming 'no', but 'yes' fell out of his mouth. Later, Charlie almost told Edward that he had changed his mind, but Alice Cullen had called to ask Charlie if he would object to Alice giving Bella a make-over before the prom.

"I know that Bella didn't have time to shop for a dress or anything, so I thought she could borrow a dress from me," the perky Cullen said. "And Edward is trying to making this a surprise."

Alice Cullen liked to talk and although Charlie normally didn't, he found himself drawn in by the girl's generosity and enthusiasm.

"It will be like playing dress-up," she squeaked. "But let me put my mom on the phone, so you know that we'll be properly supervised."

Of course, Charlie said, "Sure, put her on."

Esme Cullen sounded so sweet and sincere. Charlie didn't like having to act like he _liked_ the woman's son; and it made him feel guilty for having given Edward permission to escort Bella to the prom in the first place, because Charlie knew the only reason he'd really done it was to show Bella that Cullen didn't know her.

Charlie might not have known his daughter as well as he would have liked to, or wanted to; but Charlie knew - absolutely knew - that Bella would never voluntarily set one foot (and that was all she had, at the time, thanks to Edward and her bad spill) on a dance floor.

Bella didn't have a clue what Edward and his sister were up to, and Charlie was hoping that Bella might even get angry enough to dump Edward.

In case Bella did drop Edward, Charlie had conspired with Billy to send Jacob over to the gym, where the prom was being held. Under the guise of some other important mission, Jacob would magically appear, ready to carry Charlie's little sour puss home. Charlie believed an enraged Bella would jump at the chance to escape from the prom with Jacob, leaving Edward behind.

Charlie hoped that Bella would have an additional reason to leave the prom.

Charlie caught wind of the rumor that Bella already had a date for the prom: the irresponsible Tyler Crowley, the boy who almost killed Bella in the school parking lot. And sure enough, a few days before the big event and only a couple of hours after Edward had broached the subject, Tyler called.

"Good evening, Chief Swan."

"Yeah, who's this?"

"Tyler. Tyler Crowley. From . . "

"Yeah, I know you Crowley. Still driving like our city streets are a logging road, I hear."

"No, um . . . I don't know what you mean."

"Must have been someone else's new wheels tearing off and laying rubber over by your parent's restaurant."

"Well, yes, I do have a new car, but I'm driving very slowly these days. All the time . . . now."

"Uh-huh."

"So is Bella there?"

"Yep."

"Uh, can I talk at her a sec?"

"A sec? Uh, no. She's doing her homework."

Charlie hadn't wanted to discourage Crowley, not while there was a chance he could use the situation to make one or both of the boys look like fools. If things went down the way Charlie fantasized they would, he would even be lucky enough to get called to the school to break up a fight. _Wouldn't that have been something._

"Oh, will you tell her I called? I want to make sure she knows I can pick her up Saturday."

"Saturday. Right. I'll tell Bella you called."

And that was all he told Bella after she closed the door behind Cullen, and Charlie had made sure the delinquent was driving away.

Bella was smiling - one of those little smiles that only Edward got - as she tried to scamper upstairs with a plaster cast. Foiled, Bella pouted and Charlie groaned. He didn't like seeing Bella frustrated and sad, even if it was for her own good.

"Oh, Bells, Tyler Crowley called and said to tell you he called."

"What?"

"Tyler called and said to tell you he called," Charlie said as he dashed for door. He didn't want Bella to start asking questions.

He could only imagine the look on her face when Crowley had shown up at the house and Charlie had phoned Edward. Charlie dialed the number carefully, anticipating the moment when Charlie would say . . .

"Edward, Charlie Swan. Looks like there's been some confusion. Seems Bella'd already made a date for the prom. Tyler Crowley is here to pick up Bella." Charlie couldn't help but wonder if Edward had gotten nervous; Bella had to have been aware Crowley was telling people all over town that he was taking Bella to the prom. That kind of confidence meant that Bella must have encouraged Crowley in some way.

Edward wanted to speak to Crowley. Charlie was tickled and had started thinking again about how much fun it would be to break up a fight between the boys. Charlie was disappointed that Crowley didn't say much. He didn't have to. Whatever Edward had said to Crowley clearly scared the kid to death.

Charlie wondered if Crowley bothered to attend the prom at all.

"Dad? Dad?" Bella's voice demanded Charlie's attention.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"We finished our homework and we're gonna turn on the TV. Is there something you'd like to watch?"

"Now that you mention it, there is. One of the guys down at the station loaned me a movie. It's in the bag over on the couch. Put it in the DVD player."

"Sure," Bella replied.

Charlie pretended to focus on his food, but he was watching Bella and Edward pulling the DVD case out of the paper bag. _Dracula 2000._

Bella had expressly stated that she didn't to watch horror movies, and she had gone so far as to suggest that Edward might be scared of monster movies. Charlie doubted that; he'd seen Cullen's Hitchcock collection. Charlie didn't see much difference in murderous humans and murderous monsters, so he didn't think the delinquent could really find Dracula objectionable. But if the boy was squeamish or something, blood and gore might make for a little fun. Maybe Cullen would leave early. That's was the effect Charlie told the boys at the station he was aiming for, anyway.

"Every night, they sit there making eyes at each other. I hate to think about what they'll be doing when Bella's not grounded anymore," Charlie had complained. "I've got to take every chance that comes along to show Miss Swam that she can do a lot better than that pasty nerd."

Bella was turned, her back toward Charlie; he could imagine she was wearing her ticked-off face. Edward's face didn't give anything away.

"I know it's not your favorite kinda movie, Bells, but I've got to take it back in the morning," Charlie said, trying to sound innocent. "You gonna play it?"

"Yeah, Dad, sure."

Charlie was already moving toward his favorite chair.

"You gonna sit or stand there all night?" Charlie said to Edward.

Edward sat, but Bella ran back into the kitchen.

"You need anything from the fridge?"

"Nope, I'm good. Thanks." _She never asks him if he wants anything. Just hands him a cup._

Right on time, Bella shoves a big, plastic insulated coffee mug at Edward. The adult version of a sippy cup. _Perfect. Just perfect._

The movie wasn't providing the distraction - and entertainment - that Charlie hoped it would. Halfway through the movie and Edward was still sitting on Charlie's couch. Cullen didn't seem the least bit disturbed or frightened. Charlie looked over at Edward.

_Damn, either he's asleep or he's praying. He oughta be praying I don't call a deputy out here and have him arrested._

_Arrested for . . . loitering. For damage to private property, because the juvenile delinquent did break Bella's heart; and for . . . larceny._

Because Charlie knew that any day now Cullen was going to steal the most valuable thing in the house: Bella's . . .

"Cookies?"

"Huh?" Charlie sucked in his breath and held it.

"Cookies, Dad. They're still hot."

"Oh yeah, sure." _Hot, yeah, right. "_Thanks."

Edward hadn't moved in at least thirty minutes.

"Better wake Ichabod Crane there before he starts drooling."

"Dad," Bella scolded.

"What? Edward doesn't like your cooking?"

"I'm sure, if he liked sweets, he'd like my cookies just fine."

"Yep, I bet he would." _Cookies. Is that what they're calling it these days?_

Bella started to roll her eyes, but the sound of creaking springs dragged her eyes toward the sofa. Edward stretched and climbed slowly to his feet.

"Are those cookies I smell?" Edward grinned.

And Bella grinned.

_Ugh. Like they're sharing a silly secret._

"I made oatmeal cookies."

"So I see," Edward remarked, taking a cookie in his hand. "Recently, I've been thinking that, over the course of my life -

_Geez, he talks like he's an old man._

"that over the course of my life, I've deprived myself of far too many of life's pleasures."

_And you better keep on depriving yourself, if you know what's good for you._

Edward waved the cookie under his own nose and sighed.

"Is that so?" Bella said seductively.

Charlie was sure Bella was making an attempt to sound sexy. _Oh, Gawd. _He could feel his blood pressure creeping up.

"Yes, that it is," Edward answered, his voice laden with innuendo. "What do you think, Charlie?"

Charlie was thinking about barfing.

"Are Bella's cookies worth throwing caution and self-discipline to the wind?"

Charlie put on his police chief face and said, "Oh, they're worth dying for, alright."

"In that case." Edward smiled broadly.

_That kid's creepy._

"I can't resist," Edward snickered before he popped a cookie in his mouth.

"Take care you don't get crumbs on my couch," Charlie snorted, as he turned the volume up on the television. The head vampire was getting ready to make a meal of scatter-brained virgin.

"Edward, uh, can I get you something to chase that with? Milk, coffee, tea, orange juice, a squirrel?"

_He's been sleeping; whatever's in his sippy cup is still good . . . . Wait. Did she say squirrel? No, of course not. I must be tired._

"Okay, Bella, you and Edward here've got ten more minutes. I'll catch the rest of this with my toast in the morning." Charlie had no intention of finishing the movie; he'd watched it at the station with the guys.

"Turn that off, will you? I'm going on up to bed." Charlie stood. But he had no intention of going upstairs.

Charlie eased around the corner and sat down on the stairs. The television silenced, he heard the sound of Bella's footsteps as she crossed the room. And then nothing. No conversation. No movement. Nothing.

Charlie stood up and stepped back into the living room. After all the talk about eating cookies and throwing caution to the wind, Charlie expected to find Bella and Edward in a heated make-out session, but what he saw scared him more than finding Edward's hands where they didn't belong: Edward and Bella were standing in the center of the room, simply staring at one another.

If Charlie was going to get Bella away from Edward, he needed a new plan.

***

A/N: Charlie's taking a new approach to his scheming; he's giving Bella her freedom and hoping that will get things back on track with Jacob. But what happens when Charlie stops a Volvo that he thinks Edward is driving, and while he's chewing out the driver, Edward and Bella pull up to a nearby traffic light. What's Charlie going to do when he sees Edward kissing Bella?


	6. Patrol

Disclaimer: The wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the world of Twilight and all its inhabitants. I just wanna play with her toys. No copyright infringement is intended.

***

**Designated Visiting Hours - Chapter 6: Patrol**

When Charlie slipped past Shuwah, heading south on Highway 101 toward Forks, the speed limit picked up, and Charlie gunned the engine. He glanced in the rearview mirror at the headlights receding behind him. The Crown Vic Interceptor gained speed slowly, despite the promise the growling 250 horse-power engine made. While the cruiser would never win a quarter mile, the car was made to hang tough and take the punishment police work occasionally dished out. Charlie's 2001 Interceptor could catch and conquer almost anything that was street legal. Almost anything anyone in Forks owned. _Almost._

Charlie knew his chances of catching Cullen and the Volvo on the open road were slim, but the thought of writing that overly polite teenager a traffic citation practically made Charlie foam at the mouth. Listening to the Interceptor's engine, Charlie imagined a high-speed pursuit that would culminate in an apprehension.

_Dispatch, this is Sheriff Swan. I'm in a pursuit of a silver Volvo. The vehicle is turning north onto Russell Road from South Forks. The driver is wanted for kidnapping and larceny. . ._

In Charlie's imagination, he bumps the Volvo, sending it skidding into a ditch. Leaping out of the police car, Charlie drags a dazed Edward Cullen out of his crumpled vehicle. Then, Charlie tosses Edward across the hood of the Crown Vic and ratchets the handcuffs down on his pale wrists in a flash.

_You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. Yada, yada, yada._

The idea of being able to handcuff the delinquent and throw him in the back of the cruiser made Charlie want to do the touch-down dance. Unfortunately, Charlie rarely saw Edward's car anywhere in Forks other than in the school parking lot . . . and in front of Charlie's house. It was like the kid and his car disappeared the moment they hit the 101.

Charlie sighed. _Okay, when the boy isn't packing up and moving to the big city or meandering off to South America, he does seem to be genuinely concerned with Bella's welfare. He didn't think Edward would intentionally drive in an unsafe manner with Bella in the car; the kid was too busy polishing his goody-two-shoes image to show off._

However, Charlie figured Bella's presence in the Volvo would increase the odds that Cullen would get distracted and blow a red light or roll through a stop sign. As a result, a time or two each week, Charlie made it a point to run radar close to Forks High School around the time students were arriving or being dismissed. The high school was usually in session from 8:15 to 3:15, but students were being released at noon today. _Some teacher's union thing or whatever._

Charlie looked at his watch and called the dispatcher for a radio check. It was a reminder for the deputy on duty, who would be monitoring the radio, of course, that she should soon be pulling over near the intersection of East Division and Spartan to turn on the flashing warning lights atop the school crossing sign. Then, she'd park nearby where anyone driving past could see the patrol car. After the accident that almost killed Bella, Charlie started keeping a deputy near the schools to discourage speeders.

_Another set of eyes on the lookout for the silver Volvo._

Charlie grinned. He didn't explicitly give instructions to that effect, but he grumbled about Edward and his expensive car often enough that everyone at down at the police station knew there were brownie points to be had for the deputy catching Bella's boyfriend doing something wrong. _Jaywalking would do._

Charlie slowed down when he got close to La Push Road. He was tempted to hang a right and drive out to the Black's. Charlie had been delivering notes to Billy, who in turn passed them to Jacob. . . for weeks. Meanwhile, Billy was discouraging any direct response, at least, not until the right amount of pressure seemed to have built up. Now, Charlie and Billy figured the situation had taken about all the primer it could handle; and they hoped Bella's new freedom would be the spark that yanked Bella back to reality, and helped her see Jacob was a whole lot better for her than Edward could ever be.

The upcoming prom was still on Charlie's mind. Charlie and Billy thought they had devised the fool-proof plan for preventing Edward from taking Bella to the prom: Billy would throw a little party at his place. Charlie believed that Bella would be wary of plans with Edward on the night of the prom, so she would lean toward visiting her friends at La Push.

When Charlie mentioned the invitation from Billy for the upcoming weekend, Charlie was disappointed that Bella didn't seem even the tiniest bit excited; but the disappointment was nothing compared to the realization that Charlie and Billy's planning and scheming had provided an opportunity for Edward to carry Bella away for the weekend. When Edward raised the subject of a weekend trip to Jacksonville, Charlie was so mad at Edward that Charlie immediately attacked Bella, who played the move-out card. _Get out of jail free._

_Maybe Renée will scare Edward. _Charlie visualized Edward struggling to swallow Renée's half-baked culinary concoctions, while he sat on the floor pillows in her bohemian dining room. Charlie couldn't imagine what Renée's dining room in Jacksonville looked like, so he tried to think of style that described Renée and made Charlie cringe. Even if Edward was an adopted child, he was from a rich family and the rich only tolerated bohemian as a lifestyle for the duration of their child's post-secondary art education. Charlie decided to plant a few seeds in Edward's mind before the trip, so that he might become leery of Bella's potential for turning out just like Renée.

Charlie knew he'd have to apologize to Edward for reacting badly last night. _Someday, you'll be a father . . . no strike that . . . The trouble is that I see Bella growing up too fast . . . _ No, the word fast didn't belong in any sentence that pertained to Bella. Charlie was going to have to give the apology more thought, but he knew just what subject he was going to bring up to make Edward feel uneasy: the fact that as soon as Edward had brought Bella home last night, she had tried to go see Jacob.

When Bella returned home after her evening with the delinquent and said she was going to La Push, Charlie hoped he could take Bella's attempt to visit La Push as a sign that Edward did not yet have Bella's undivided loyalty. Bella left, but she returned after a few minutes, reporting that her truck wouldn't start. It seemed strange, almost like an unseen force had its own agenda. Charlie groaned. In his eagerness, Charlie let his enthusiasm for the visit show by offering to let Bella take the police cruiser. Naturally, Bella declined.

Charlie hadn't talked to Billy since Bella tried to visit Jacob last night and Charlie really wanted to find out if she'd made contact with Jacob yet. This matchmaking stuff was new territory. Charlie envied the fathers who had been fortunate enough to live in times where a couple of rabbits (dead or alive) and a big, fat pig were sufficient barter for a wife. Billy seemed to take to it - matchmaking, that is - with gusto.

"Charlie, we both know that Bella's gonna go off to college and she'll forget all about Jake, but until then we gotta keep her out of Cullen's clutches."

Billy didn't have much to say about the fact that Bella and Edward were plotting to go away to college together. Charlie wondered what Billy would say about Bella's acceptance to the University of Alaska Southeast. Edward had been accepted there, too. Juneau was almost 2,000 miles away by car, a trip to Bellingham and a 3 day ocean voyage or a six hundred dollar airfare out of Sea-Tac. If Bella stayed in Forks for a couple of years, she could attend Peninsula Community and then transfer when she was sure of what career path she might follow.

Charlie passed a young man strapped under a backpack, lumbering toward Forks. _He doesn't seem to sure of what path he should follow either_, Charlie thought. During the warmest months of the year, the town saw its share of college students and young soldiers from Fort Lewis hoping to enjoy the many outdoor activities available on the Olympic Peninsula. Charlie might have picked the backpacker up if he wasn't a little bugged by a car that seemed to be pacing the police cruiser. Besides, if the backpacker hadn't wanted to walk, he could have caught the Clallam Transit bus into Forks.

Charlie looked at his watch again. 12:15 p.m. He'd taken too much time chatting with the matron at the jail in Port Angeles.

Forks' small jail only housed thirty people; and it wasn't suited for handling women, so females were transported to Port Angeles. The particular prisoner that Charlie dropped off was a regular customer. She and her husband seemed to take turns beating up on each other and breaking the furniture in their house. When the neighbors called 911 the night before, Charlie's deputy had arrived to find the woman standing over her husband's prone body. Neighbors reported that a right hook took the man down. The town of Forks provided the gentleman with a ride to the hospital; his wife was given a lift to jail. _Again._

Charlie liked to take the opportunity to catch up on local rumors, or at least find out where the fish had been biting, whenever he delivered a prisoner to the county jail, but no one was talking about the locals or fishing. They were more eager to chat about the recent murders in Seattle. Law enforcement scuttlebutt. Generally, a bad thing, especially when it turned out that a law enforcement officer was involved in the crime.

Charlie almost wished he'd kept Bella confined to the house a little longer. Fortunately, Charlie and Bella lived in Forks and the most dangerous things in Forks were probably in the meat case at the Thriftway. Recalls for salmonella and botulism were becoming pretty routine.

Wasn't much chance Cullen was going to catch a nasty case of E coli; he didn't eat as far as Charlie could tell. _Mamma's boy. _Cullen had turned his nose up at Bella's stroganoff. The dish was one of Charlie's favorites, made from his mother's recipe. _Mamma's boy._ The irony wasn't lost on Charlie, but he wasn't going to dwell on it.

Eventually, Bella's delinquent was going to find out that Bella could get a little snippy when it came to her cooking. 'Just eat it, Dad,' Bella would say, referring to broccoli or some other vegetable that she had decided would be good for Charlie. Edward would have to start eating her cooking, too, and when he complained, he'd be laid out on the front lawn the same way the husband involved in the previous night's domestic dispute had been.

"We've been married for three years and he still runs over to his mother's house before he comes home at night," Charlie heard Bella saying.

"The truth is that I hate stroganoff," Edward confessed . . . right before Bella cold-cocked him again and sent him staggering to the floor.

The images in Charlie's head made him laugh, that is, until he really thought about Bella being married to the likes of Edward Cullen. Then, Charlie started to sweat. He hated to consider the possibility that Bella might end up doing something that would force an early marriage, although she vigorously denied the possibility. Still, Charlie knew too well where intense feelings could lead. Since Cullen was really the only contender for the title of husband - Charlie gulped - and _baby's daddy_ in Bella's life, Charlie knew he was going to have to try and see the delinquent as something other than the . . . well, the delinquent.

Charlie tried out a few new phrases and words. _Bella's boyfriend._ _Bella's husband. Son-in-law. Bella's ex._ Charlie thought the last one had a nice ring to it. By the time Edward would be the ex - and statistically, in this day and age, that was bound to be title he'd win eventually - Charlie would be using more familiar terms again. _Heartbreaker. Thief. Convict._

The Interceptor roared into Forks faster than Charlie had intended and he found himself riding the bumper of someone scooting around well under the speed limit. When the driver looked up in to the mirror and saw Charlie scowling, the man lifted his foot from the gas pedal suddenly. Fortunately, Charlie's reflexes were good enough to keep the cruiser out of the man's trunk. Charlie didn't recognize the car or the driver, so he an apology for the lapse of attention wasn't in the future. A local would have gotten some kind of an excuse. Forks was a small town, and even if the job of sheriff wasn't an elected position, disgruntled residents did have the power to persuade the town council to vamoose a corrupt or inept police chief like Charlie's predecessor had been.

Charlie would have had to follow the local into a gas station or the parking lot of the grocery store. People usually found a reason to stop driving as soon as they realized that they were being followed by a police car. _Sorry to spook you, there, Mac. I didn't recognize you. Thought maybe some thief was joy riding in your car. _Comments like that let the person know the town sheriff was vigilant and had a personal interest in everyone in the community.

Charlie was watchful. In fact, he knew every vehicle and face that belonged in town. He knew a little about everyone, but lately it had started to feel like people around him were saying one thing, but doing another. Charlie felt the tension rising in his neck and chalked his unease up to the unfamiliar role of custodial parent that he was still struggling to play.

Thinking about his job was more pleasant. As long as no one was hurting anyone else and no major law breaking was going on, Charlie was content to ride herd over Forks quietly.

Despite his laid back and nonchalant attitude, Charlie knew the political climate of Forks and the Clallam County criminal justice community better than anyone. The significance of the last detail increased in importance when the regional state prison facilities became the largest employers in the area. First, the correctional officers working in those facilities were a pool of potential deputies; and second, the presence of well-compensated senior administrative jobs meant that Forks city leaders would want to make sure its police chief was never lured away. Since the town participated in the state's retirement and health benefits programs, the impact of jumping employers would be minimal. That situation encouraged decision-makers to make the salary competitive. They didn't realize that it was the car that guaranteed Charlie wouldn't relinquish his job without a fight.

Charlie slowed down as he passed Newton's. Bella didn't say anything about working, but it didn't hurt to take a peek in the parking lot. He pulled in; but just as he was about the park, the car Charlie had seen in his rearview mirror screamed by doing at least twenty miles over the speed limit. Charlie spun the Interceptor in the gravel and hit the blacktop. He was gaining on the gradually slowing vehicle when it finally dawned on him that the car he was following was a shiny, silver Volvo. Just like Edward Cullen's car.

Charlie's mind went blank and he couldn't remember Cullen's license tag number. Charlie activated the lights and crawled up on the Volvo. The car slid to the side of the road and stopped promptly. Charlie was shaking; he hadn't been this excited about a traffic stop since he was still a rookie.

Charlie called the plates in, but didn't wait to hear the dispatcher's verification that the Volvo was Cullen's. Charlie was sure the vehicle would come back registered to either Carlisle or Esme Cullen, so he put on his game face and walked stiffly to the driver's side of the Volvo. He tapped on the dark tinted windows, making a mental note to check and see if the tinting exceeded state tolerance. Charlie stared at the driver and his passenger, realizing immediately that, somehow, he'd been had.

Emmett Cullen and Jasper Hale stared back.

Charlie wriggled his mustache and snorted. These were not the faces that Charlie wanted to see. "Emmett Cullen, did you come all the way back to Forks just to get a ticket. Or did you forget how to drive while you were going to school back east?" Charlie was livid. He was sure Edward had something to do with this.

"Yeah, I guess I wasn't paying as much attention as should have been. I'm really sorry about that Chief Swan. I won't let it happen again. I was trying to get over to the high school to pick up my brother and sister," Emmett said.

Charlie didn't get a chance to respond before Jasper pointed. "Hey, that's Bella's truck."

Charlie turned to look at the nearby intersection where the on-coming vehicles were waiting for the traffic signal to change. The first vehicle in line was Bella's truck. It looked like Edward was driving and Bella was sitting beside him, but Charlie couldn't see Bella very well; she was too busy sucking on Edward's face. _Sheesh!_

Charlie whirled and beat it back to his cruiser in time to blast the siren before the light changed. Edward and Bella quickly disengaged, as Alice Cullen slowly peered up over the dashboard of the old Ford. Her hands formed blinders blocking her view of the delinquents beside her. Clearly, Alice was almost as mortified as Charlie was. Charlie felt sorry for her.

Ignoring the truck, Charlie moved the Crown Vic out onto the street and stopped next the Volvo. "You boys keep the speed down and tell your brother I want to have a word or two with him. Tonight." Charlie had a feeling that Cullen's brothers would love to deliver that message.

An apology was the last thing Edward Cullen would get from Charlie Swan tonight.

***

A/N: In the next chapter, Charlie kicking himself for avoiding Edward the previous evening and he's upset about Bella and Edward upcoming trip to Jacksonville. Can Alice run interference and keep the peace?


	7. Running Interference

Disclaimer: The wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the world of Twilight and all its inhabitants. I just wanna play with her toys. No copyright infringement is intended.

***

**Designated Visiting Hours - Chapter 7: Running Interference**

_**Designated visiting hours.**__ The time when Edward Cullen will be receiving well-wishers as he recovers from the extensive injuries he sustained during a brutal police interrogation. _Charlie shrugged. The hospital in Forks didn't really have visiting hours. "People just come and go as they please," Charlie recalled. "There's a specific time listed somewhere on the books," as the hospital operator would say, but people pretty much did whatever they liked.

_Besides, the delinquent's father is on the hospital staff_, Charlie thought crossly, as he began to calculate what posting a deputy at Cullen's bedside might cost the department.

Charlie was pissed. Really pissed.

Charlie's anger didn't only stem from the fact that Charlie had seen Bella glue herself to Edward in an incredibly disgusting public display of affection or even the fact that the one time Charlie got to pull the Volvo over, Edward wasn't driving it. The unshakeable truth was that Charlie was mad at himself, and instead of heading straight home after work _yesterday_ to wait for Edward, Charlie drove over to the diner and forced himself to eat a bowl of chicken and dumplings. _Chicken and dumplings._

_Chicken._

_Right._

Then, Charlie hit the monthly Sportmen's Club meeting, where, as far as he could recall, the big topics of conversation had been the closing of the sport halibut season and the effort to persuade the Fish and Wildlife people to hold the annual special hunting lotteries earlier in the year. Charlie agreed that permit winners needed more time to make arrangements for taking time off from work; but he was afraid that some people would miss the earlier application deadline for the fall special hunts, and that would mean there'd be more people trying to skirt the law come September.

Charlie didn't remember if any other subjects had arisen at the meeting, because by the time he started thinking about restrictions on hunting elk and moose and cougar, the only thing on his mind was the moratorium on killing the young man who dared to show up on his doorstep looking for his Bella. _Damn!_ Boys the delinquent's age were all hunting one thing . . . and Charlie was darned sure he wasn't going to let Edward Cullen have a permit to tag that.

Unfortunately, Charlie knew his ex-wife didn't share his sentiments; in fact, it was entirely possible that Reneé might not only condone a physical relationship between Bella and Edward, but that the flake might encourage it by leaving condoms on the night stand. The thought made Charlie's stomach seize a little, as he peeked out his window at the boy running a soapy cloth over the curves of Bella's truck.

By the time Edward had finished washing the old Ford, Charlie had eaten an entire roll of chewable antacid tablets.

"What's cooking, Bella?" Alice asked, as she came down the stairs. "It kind of smells . . . funny."

Charlie had almost forgotten that Edward's sister, Alice, had been upstairs with Bella. He liked Alice - a lot - and Charlie usually enjoyed her visits. Alice had a warm openness and an enthusiastic manner that Charlie found utterly endearing; and he couldn't help indulging her by talking too much, but Charlie's conversations with Alice were never frivolous. She always seemed to see everything as a possibility rather than a liability.

"That'd be fish stew," Charlie said. "Just heating it up."

"Charlie, I think it's burning," Alice said.

"Dad," Bella admonished Charlie. "You can't turn the burner up on high and walk away."

"Look who's worried about playing with fire," Charlie said as he turned away from the window, knowing that Edward would be coming through the door any second.

"Dad!" Bella rolled her eyes as she poured the remains of the inedible fish stew into the garbage. "What do you want me to do about dinner? When you didn't come home for dinner last night, I froze the macaroni and cheese I made. I could warm that up for you."

Charlie scratched his head and looked toward the door as Edward walked in. "Think they're serving steak down at the VFW tonight," he muttered. "What about you, Edward? Up for a steak?"

"You want to go sit around a smoky club hall and eat leather?" Bella huffed, clearly put out with Charlie. "I'll be back on Sunday, Dad. All this acting like you can't even boil water and will hide out in bars with your buddies, if I am not here to cook for you, is nonsense. You aren't entirely helpless."

Alice turned to Charlie. "The VFW? Oh, they grill the steaks out back, don't they?"

"Yep. Supposed to be cooked to order," Charlie told her, as he sat down at the table, "But don't ask for anything rare. Last time, Reverend Weber did that he had to chase his steer around the table and wrestle it back into the plate."

"Wow, I'll have to tell Jasper and Emmett it is possible to find a bull ride and a meal right here in Forks."

"Alice," Edward cautioned.

"Shouldn't you be home packing, Edward?" Alice scrunched up her face and squinted her eyes.

"Speaking of Emmett and Jasper, they said you wanted to talk to me. I waited around last night until ten-thirty, but . . ."

"Yeah, I had a meeting," Charlie cut Edward off. "I should have called. Sorry about that Bella." _I wasn't ready to talk to Edward last night. He really might have ended up in the hospital if I had._

"Look, Dad, I know you're not happy that Edward is going to Jacksonville with me, but his parents did buy the tickets and I haven't seen Mom in ages," Bella said slowly.

"You're right about the trip. You should go, but the trip, in and of itself, is not what I'm concerned with," Charlie replied gruffly. "Edward, grab a seat."

No one moved.

Until Charlie threw his hands up. "What? You can't sit at my table?"

"Charlie," Bella started to say something, but Edward cut her off.

"No, Bella, I've been rude." Edward sat down, attempting a small, polite smile. "And I apologize."

Charlie cleared his throat. "Bella, I want my steak well-done and I want the potato salad and the beans, but I'll skip the salad. What do you kids want? I'll call the order in. Bella, you and Alice run over by the school and pick them up at the VFW while me and Edward have have a man-to-man."

"Er . . .okay, Dad." Bella walked toward the front door. "Um, Edward can you help me get the recycling into the back of the truck. I might as well drop it off on the way to the VFW."

Bella and Edward looked expectantly at Charlie.

Charlie stood up and walked toward the phone, motioning toward the door. "Go."

"It's in a garbage bag sitting in front of the washer," Bella told Edward as she dragged a box of old magazines out the closet.

"I'll be right back," Edward said as he carried the plastic bag out behind Bella.

"Uh-huh," Charlie grunted as he waited for someone to answer the phone at the VFW. "Yeah, hey. I want to place an order and send Isabella around to pick it up. . . yeah, this is Chief Swan . . ."

***

When the door closed, Bella dropped her head. "I'm really sorry. This is all my fault."

Edward slipped his hand under the box she carried and kissed the top of her head. "No."

"Well, it's not your fault Charlie's got a stick shoved..."

"Bella, he did see us . . . stopped at the light near Newton's . . . and I might have seen him before you . . . we . . ."

"Edward Cullen are you _trying_ to get me grounded again?' Bella raised her voice.

"It's . . . well . . ."

"Out with it, Edward."

"You know Charlie is waiting to catch me doing something and some days it is hard not to turn the tables on him. . ."

"You shouldn't read Charlie's mind. . ." Bella muttered. "unless you're totally going to share the information."

Edward didn't act like he heard her. "Especially, when it works out _you_ are the one doing the something that ticks him off." Edward smirked as he tossed the recycling in the back of Bella's truck.

"You. I can't believe you. You are trying to get me worse than grounded," Bella fumed.

"I don't think Charlie's going to put you back on restriction."

"How can you be sure?"

"Well, Alice didn't see punishment in your future . . . yesterday."

"What?" Understanding erased Bella's normal gentle countenance. "What? You mean that Alice was in on it? Why, that little traitor." Actually, Bella looked fierce.

And Edward couldn't keep the laughter back. Between convulsive fits, he tried to speak. "Alice is in there talking to Charlie. It's going to be fine, really Bella. I promise."

***

Charlie sighed. Bella was taking too long and as much as Charlie adored Alice, tonight she was wearing on his nerves.

"Alice, admit it. I saw your face, you were as embarrassed as I was when Bella was drooling all over your brother. Hell, you were trying to hide and you had your hands up blocking the view."

"Bella was expressing her excitement about . . ." Alice couldn't think of anything that wouldn't make Charlie madder; fortunately, he didn't notice.

"It's just plain disrespectful to other folks. Public displays of affection." _Ugh._ Charlie was having a hard time putting his thoughts in order. "I . . . .I . . . I don't even think they're politically correct anymore either."

"Not P.C.? How?"

"You know, Alice, there are plenty of Forks residents sporting rainbow flags and marching in those parades in Seattle. I've even got a deputy signed up on the Washington State Domestic Partnership Registration. One day, he came into work and announced that if something happened to him on the job, he didn't want some prejudiced buttheads going over to his house to tell his boyfriend he was dead. Hell, I didn't even know he had boyfriend. Er, domestic partner"

"Yes," _It just so happens that some members of my immediate family - and one or two of our cousins in Denali - believed Edward was gay until he brought Bella home. _"But I'm not sure what that has to do with Bella and Edward." _Rosalie might still have doubts._

"Oh come on, Alice. If we do it - you know make out in public - we gotta let everyone do it."

"Uh-huh. 'We' being straight people?"

"I don't care what people do in their own homes, as long as they keep it off my streets." _And, most importantly, away from my house where nobody - I mean nobody, Mr. Edward Cullen, better be getting any action. Especially Bella._

"Okay, so you have decided to champion gay rights, and until everyone can live with and love whomever they choose, you think everybody should keep their sexual preferences under wraps, so to speak."

"Exactly. Come to think of it..."

"Charlie! Get a grip. I know Edward's not your favorite person on the planet, but he really does love Bella. And he's good to Bella. There's nothing in the world that Edward wouldn't give Bella or do for her."

***

Edward couldn't decide if Bella or Charlie was funnier; and then he saw Alice's face in Charlie's mind, as she was trying to process the information Charlie had imparted. Clearly, Alice hadn't seen that coming. _Sideswiped by a human._ The scene was more than Edward could stand. He couldn't stop laughing and his laughter was only making Bella more angry.

"I swear, I'm not laughing at you, Bella." Edward was loud enough that Charlie heard him inside the house.

"You knew what Charlie was going to say to me the other night, and you . . . you . . let me go back in the house completely blind."

"And then you tampered with my truck. My truck . . . . . ."

***

"Charlie, Edward would never disrespect Bella. They're young and in love, but he'd never do anything foolish."

"Well, Bella can think up enough foolishness for herself. Like when she ran off to Phoenix last year or when she ran away with you, Alice," Charlie pointed out as he started to open the front door. _And dragged your sorry brother home,_ Charlie thought. "And it's dangerous to behave like she did in a moving vehicle."

"Technically, the car was stopped; it wasn't moving...

"It was running, and she couldn't have been wearing her seat belt," countered Charlie. _Not when she was practically crawling all over Edward._

"And, technically, Bella is an adult, Charlie," Alice said, as she sauntered to the door behind Charlie.

"That's what scares me, Alice. It's the adult activities that Bella might have on her mind that worry me, and I'm not sure . . ."

Charlie couldn't finish his sentence, because when he pulled open the door the first thing he saw was Bella chasing Edward with the garden hose. _Another dream come true. _Edward was completely soaked and Bella looked mad enough to spit fire. _At least she didn't hit him . . . as far as I can tell._

"See, I wouldn't worry about it a bit," Alice advised. "Edward and Bella are still playing school games."

"Spin the bottle is a kid's game, too," Charlie said under his breath, surveying the scene.

"Bella, you're wasting water; that's enough. Edward will catch his death of cold and I don't want to deal with you moping around after you've killed him." _Gosh darn it, I sure hate having to rescue the boy. _"Come on Edward, take those wet shoes off and get in the house; let's get you dry." Charlie thought Edward looked like a protester who had been on the receiving end of a firehose, and then a deputy had left him in a holding cell all night. _Poor bastard._

Bella turned the water off and started coiling the wet hose. _She looks dangerous_, Charlie thought. He recalled the image he'd had of Bella throwing a wild uppercut into Edward's jaw. It wasn't pretty.

"Let's go, Alice," Bella snapped. "You and I need to have our own little talk."

Charlie had stepped back into the house before Edward stuck his hands out to take the hose and whispered, "Charlie ordered three steaks well-done and one rare - very, very rare - and that might not be the best choice. Serving a hot, bloody steak to a vampire."

"Don't worry; I'll make sure yours is extra dry and tough," Bella said too sweetly. "Since I know you're gonna have to actually swallow some."

Edward hoped Bella was teasing, because if she wasn't, he was going to add 'vindictive' to the list of Bella's personality traits he'd compiled shortly after they first met.

Charlie yelled, from inside the house, "Pneumonia, Edward. It's deadly."

"So I've heard," Edward sighed, as he sat down on a front step and removed his shoes and socks.

"Poor Edward," Alice said when Bella got into the truck beside her.

"Pfft, you need to worry about yourself," Bella barked. "I can't believe you. Why would you, of all people, help Edward set me up?"

"Edward wasn't trying to set you up and I wasn't helping him anyway." Alice protested. "I was helping Jasper."

"Jasper and Emmett were in on this?" Bella demanded. "Was there anyone at your house who wasn't 'in' on it?"

"Well, Esme wouldn't let us tell Carlisle and . . . "

***

Alice's confession sealed Edward's fate. He couldn't stand hearing another thought in Alice's head. The only thing that was certain was that when Bella got home she was going to be testy. It was also highly probably that she might get mad enough to ask Charlie to drive her and Edward to the airport in the police cruiser, instead of letting Emmett and Jasper play chauffeur.

Picturing the kind of airport security scrutiny that Edward would receive, after being released from the back of a marked police car, would have made Edward chuckle, but laughing at Bella and Charlie had made his stomach sore. _Don't think that's ever happened to me before. _

Edward wouldn't change anything though, if he could go back and do yesterday over again. It wasn't his fault that Jasper and Emmett came back late because Charlie was driving like a slug. Jasper told him they'd paced Charlie doing eighty along most of the route, but for a Cullen, that was like watching grass grow.

When Edward saw Charlie pulling the Volvo over, he had slowed down so they'd have to stop for the light. He could see Emmett was smirking at him and Edward remembered the jab Emmett had thrown about Edward being a prude. All at once the urge to prove his relationship with Bella wasn't entirely hands-off got the better of him.

As the truck rolled to a stop, Edward had turned his head and put his nose in Bella's hair, breathing heavily. He knew that when his cold breath touched her skin, she'd shiver, and he knew that Bella associated that little involuntary quake with her desire for him. He knew she'd turn her head up and when she did, he moved so that his nose barely touched her skin, until he reached her nose. He leaned in and pulled a deep breath into his mouth from hers; then he flicked his tongue out to touch her lip. Bella's reaction was better than Edward had imagined. She was perfect.

And it was better than the scenario Alice had seen happening, and later conspired with Jasper to create for Emmett's benefit, in the school parking lot - because Charlie had not been there.

The hint of a grumbling was the only thing Edward could pick up when he tried to see what Charlie had on his mind. Edward heard Charlie inside the house. Finally_, _the door swung open slowly, and Edward realized it was the last invitation he was going to get from Charlie that night.

Edward followed Charlie into the living room. A couple of plastic bags covered the arm chair where Charlie apparently wanted Edward to sit.

Edward was lowering himself into the seat when Charlie threw towels in Edward's general direction and said, "So . . . you sat in that chair the first time you ever set foot in this house."

***

A/N: By the way, there is a Sportsmen's Club in Forks; the meetings are held the 3d Wednesday every month. And yes, there is a VFW (it's down the street from the high school); it holds monthly meetings on the second Thursdays. (I don't know how often they grill steaks out back, but the Cooties at the VFW I belong to cook up steak and potatoes every Friday. :P) Seriously, if you're taking the TwiTour of Forks, be a mensch and drop off donations of canned goods at the VFW or make a contribution to the shelter for homeless vets in Clallam County.

In the next chapter, Charlie thinks he's really putting the squeeze on Edward, but it isn't fear that is making Edward nervous.


	8. Stake Dinner

Disclaimer: The wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the world of Twilight and all its inhabitants. I just wanna play with her toys. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**DESIGNATED VISITING HOURS: CHAPTER 8 - Stake Dinner**

_Designated visiting hours. The only thing saving Edward from Bella._ At least, it amused Charlie to think that might be the case. Even considering the surly temperament Bella displayed when Charlie objected to the idea of Edward's accompanying Bella to Jacksonville, her newly acquired almost-constantly testy attitude was more or less directed at Edward; Charlie was tickled to ponder the possibility that Bells was subconsciously blaming Edward for her confinement. _Finally._

"So Edward . . ." Charlie let calmness seep into his mind, like he did when he was fishing. _Lure Edward in._ "You sat in that chair the first time you ever set foot in my house," Charlie recalled. Charlie sucked air into his chest like he was going to say something else, but he held the breath and let Edward stew. _It couldn't hurt . . . much . . . to ratchet up the tension a notch._ Charlie was disappointed that Edward wasn't breathing hard and heavy. _Fear is a good thing, Edward._

"You remember that? The first time you sat in that chair?" Charlie noted brusquely. _A __mite too fast. _ Charlie cleared his throat and wriggled into his seat. _I need to remember: quiet and still. Like catchin' fish. _Charlie fought the urge to check his watch when he realized Edward was taking his time to think up an answer. _ Quiet and still. Just like catching fish._

"Yes, sir. I thought it would be appropriate to introduce myself." _ Considering I had spent the previous night in Bella's room._

"Ah, yeah, appropriate." Charlie scowled, wishing he had held the conversation outside where he would be at liberty to fire up a cigar. He didn't smoke them often, but he had a half-burned stogie tucked into the nylon baton holder on his duty belt. Charlie thought chewing on a cigar would have made him look more intimidating than pulling out a six-and-a-half inch expandable baton.

Charlie actually stored his riot baton in the trunk of his police cruiser. _For use in the event of an emergency. Crowd control. Riots. Mayhem. Murder. A blow to the head or neck, _Charlie thought as he continued to assess Edward's demeanor. Or a_ solid strike to the armpit or the chest could be fatal._

"I remember you told me you were going to keep Bella safe, instead you ran her out of Forks." _And she came home all busted up like she'd been in a prison yard fight. _

"I assure you, sir, that was never my intent."

_Good, he's nervous._ Edward was as pale as ever. _Maybe low blood pressure or sugar or somethin'._

"Uh-huh. Playing baseball with your family wasn't the best idea you ever had. Bella goes off with you for a few hours and she comes back yelling at me; saying she's going back to Phoenix, because she doesn't want to get stuck in Forks like her mother."

"I remember," _that James was outside listening to every word Bella said_, Edward thought.

"Bella's a lot like her mother. I guess she's a little like me in some ways, too, but now I'd have to say Bella's more like Reneé. Bella gets carried away with things, like she was yesterday."

Charlie replayed the image of Bella practically crawling into Edward's lap; Edward was relieved that he could not blush.

"I might not see everything that's going on with you two, but I know enough."

"Yes, sir." _You don't know anything . . . _Edward reached for another towel. It was a precautionary move to distract Charlie and conceal Edward's reaction to the the visual scene running on auto-repeat in Charlie's mind.

"Bella's got a temper. These days it's her way or the highway, you know?" Charlie was surprised that Bella held her tongue where her punishment was concerned, since most the restrictions were arbitrary, and Charlie had dragged the confinement out longer than any eighteen year - that he ever heard of - would tolerate.

"I think that sometimes Bella gets frustrated," Edward said. He was holding his breath. The very last thing in the world Edward wanted was for Charlie to figure out the reason for Edward's increasing anxiety.

"I know that you and Bella think that you're in love and that nothing could possibly change that. But you aren't stupid Edward; you've already seen how life gets in the way of your plans and I'm not going to rehash my objections to the way your treated Bella last fall. I just want to make it crystal clear that when you came back to Forks, the only reason I didn't drag you out on a boat and feed you to the sharks was that I haven't completely forgotten you kept Tyler Crowley from running over Bella not long after she moved here."

Edward wasn't sure where Charlie was headed, but the reference to the incident with the van reminded Edward that they both wanted to keep Bella safe.

"You got that?" Charlie growled with surprising ferocity.

"Completely." Edward turned a few other phrases over in his mind. _Thinking up smart ass comebacks will only increase the likelihood I might inadvertently slip and actually utter the words. _

"You've got enough trouble without me making it any harder on you. These days, you've got your hands full with Bella." In Charlie's mind the visage of Edward cringing under the cold spray was juxtaposed with the picture of a weathered-formerly-furry-something ground into the gravel on the side of the highway. "And think about it: right now she's driving around Forks all wet and mad. When she gets back here, she'll be about ready to blow."

Charlie leaned against the back of the sofa.

_Well, I'll be damned_, Charlie thought as he noted the tenseness in Edward's face. _The delinquent is scared of Bella._ Charlie couldn't believe the Fates had presented Charlie with yet another opportunity to torment the hell out of Edward. Edward was apparently far less deserving of good luck than Charlie was. So if Charlie couldn't run Edward off, scaring the bejesus out of him was the next best thing.

"Bella was teasing, she really wasn't trying to injure me in any way." _ It just felt like it._ "She's not really mad at me.' _I hope._

"Right there's your problem: you think you know what Bella's thinking."

_Not in a million years._

"Heck, you sat in that chair last year at this time and convinced me to help you trick Bella into going to the prom. Bella's not a dress-up-and-go-dancing kinda girl, but I don't think you've figured that out."

"I would never do anything contrary to Bella's wishes. I've learned my lesson." _And then some._

"You might not appreciate it, but Bella got to know Jacob Black pretty well while you were off finding yourself or whatever you were doing. He's still on her mind and your hanging around here all the time isn't going to stop that. She's got me carrying notes and the other night, after you brought her home, she tried to run down to LaPush."

"I know." Edward's even tone didn't betray his jealousy. Charlie liked the dog and that meant everything Edward said might be used against him.

Charlie found the lack of an emotional response unacceptable, so he gripped the arm of the sofa and squeezed until the fabric tightened enough to pluck at the stitching. Edward winced like Charlie had dragged his fingernails across a blackboard, satisfying Charile's theory that Edward was afraid and the least little thing could get to him.

Relaxing into the comfort of his certainty, Charlie continued his verbal bombardment, "Doggone it, Edward, I don't think the two of you are serious enough to be flyin' 'cross the country all by yourselves. It's just not right. I don't care if she is eighteen and you're . . . legal."

Continuing to ignore the implication that Bella was not committed to their relationship, Edward said, "We will be escorted to and from the airport. Since Bella's mother is picking us up in Jacksonville, and we are staying with her, Bella and I will never actually be alone."

"Bella's mother. Reneé. See, she's part of the problem. Even if I trusted you to act responsibly, I can't trust Reneé to use common sense and set a good example for Bella. Heck, I can't trust Reneé not to plant foolish ideas in Bella's head. When she found out you two were flying out, she asked me if I had taken Bella to the doctor . . .

***

"Doctor?" Charlie moved the phone from one ear to the other and scratched his chin. "Bella's not sick. I wouldn't let her on a plane, if she was sick."

"Charlie Swan, for a smart man, sometimes you can be so clueless." Reneé sighed. "Birth control, Charlie. Bella needs to be on birth control."

"Bella says she doesn't need . . . uh . . . to . . . uh . . . think about that. She's . . . you know . . . not . . ."

"One good kiss is all it takes to slip and let the bird out of its cage." Reneé warned. "You think they're gonna stop once they get started? No, they won't. And. You only have to drop seeds in that garden one time to get marigolds."

"Reneé, I don't want to think about this."

"I'm just saying, it's our responsibility to make sure Bella can enjoy being a healthy, young woman without worrying about making me a grandmother."

"For Pete's sake, Reneé, I don't want to hear anymore."

***

_For Pete's sake, indeed._ Edward was mortified. Between the intriguing glimpse of Bella that Edward saw in Charlie's mind and the conversation Charlie had projected, Edward found himself falling over a precipice. If Charlie planned to skewer Edward and toss him on the fire, this was the moment; because Edward had never been as completely paralyzed and incapable of self-defense. Charlie could have put a match to Edward's trousers and he would have sat there immobile while the fire consumed him. In reality, Edward wasn't sure if the inferno he was vividly imagining was the product of embarrassment or guilt for every time he had fixated on Bella's cleavage.

Of course, every fantasy that Edward had ever entertained dashed at the light-speed into his mind, creating a firestorm that culminated with the picture of the wet t-shirt Bella had been wearing when he let her chase him around the truck with the garden hose.

Slowly, Edward raised his eyes and looked at Charlie.

"Edward? Are you listening to me?" Charlie was staring bug-eyed at Edward.

"I said: do I need to take my daughter to a doctor, Edward. Do I? Because Reneé's got a lot of influence on Bella and she thinks Bella oughta get more . . . healthy . . . and . . . and yesterday I gotta good view of just how healthy Bella's behaving these days. I surely don't want Reneé egging her on." Charlie paused. "And you stood in here not too many nights ago and told Bella you wanted . . . her . . . cookies . . . and that you were ready to give into temptation. You think I don't know innuendo when I hear it?"

Edward couldn't speak, instantly recalling the conversation and the way Bella had grinned at him and the kiss they had shared before Charlie had arrived that day. The thought did nothing to decrease Edward's discomfort.

"So, Edward, do I need to take Bella to the doctor?" Charlie's face was beet red. He could feel the heat and pressure rising every time he gritted his teeth.

This was going better than Charlie dreamed; maybe Edward was as old-fashioned as Bella claimed him to be. Charlie struggled to keep his I'll-shoot-you-dead-if-you-so-much-as-blink face in place. When he couldn't hide his twitching mustache, he grabbed a handful of roasted peanuts and went to work cracking and squeezing and picking the nutmeats from the shells.

In the meantime, Edward looked like he was having the worst panic attack that Charlie had ever heard of. _Could be the peanuts_, Charlie mused as he chomped down on another legume. _He's allergic to cats; maybe nuts make him sick, too._ Edward reminded Charlie of those weirdoes on a talk show, who had just found out he was dating his long-lost sister.

"Just say _no_, Edward,"

Edward remained mute.

Before Edward could think of a response, Charlie said, "Just say NO!"

The two men stared at each other for a few moments.

"I'll never let anything bad happen to Bella. I swear." Edward couldn't get a reading on Charlie's mind. It was like a guided missile set to destroy Edward, who had not said exactly what Charlie wanted to hear.

"Just. Say. No." _Put your hands in the air and keep them off my daughter, you son-of-a-bitch, or I'll shoot your thieving hide._

"No," Edward said without affectation.

_Damn it._ Edward's pitiful expression reminded Charlie that the boy was an adopted child. _Who knows what kind of tragedy had given the kid that status._ Underneath the confident, polite manner and his fancy clothes, Edward was the kind of emotionally needy male that appealed to girls like Bella: martyrs who took satisfaction in the intangible reward of reverent gratitude.

It made sense that Jacob Black couldn't close the deal with Bella; they were too much alike. When Bella's psyche was out of alignment, the self-sufficient and resourceful Jacob instinctively knew Bella just needed a shoulder to lean on or a ready hand to catch her when she fell. Beyond their common bond of friendship, any romantic feelings that lay between Bella and Jacob were the product of hormones and, perhaps, Charlie and Billy's wishful thinking.

"Now about this trip. Let me tell you how it's going to work: you'll be sleeping on the couch or the floor. Nowhere near Bella. Even if think you have her mother's permission, you don't have mine."

Charlie waited for Edward to vocalize something. And waited.

When Edward nodded, Charlie had a twinge of guilt. That nagging, little male-solidarity sports announcer dude was whispering that Bella was just as wily as her mother had ever been; and the poor sap, who was the object of Bella's scheming, was the pitiful soul now sitting in Charlie's living room looking like Bella did the night Sam Uley carried her out of the forest.

Charlie's anger flared at that thought. He looked the water pooling around Edward's bare feet and remembered removing Bella's wet socks. Charlie knew Bella had acquired a womanly shape, but that night, Charlie could only see the baby he'd diapered and bathed.

Inside Edward, a war between self-remorse and a keen interest in seeing what Charlie was remembering played out. Edward found nothing remotely babyish in the visage Charlie projected, so interest won.

Charlie's mind became a battlefield, too. He wavered between the fury he'd been nursing and guilt. The realization disgusted him. _What kind of father can't chase a teenage boy off his porch?_ _Apparently, one who allowed himself to develop a peculiar fondness for imagining ways of torturing the would-be suitor._ Charlie was not ready to admit he was taking a liking to Edward or that he still held any anger toward Bella for her most recent disappearance.

"Edward, I want your word that you'll respect Bella and behave the way you know you should this weekend."

_Charlie, if you could read my mind, you'd pull the shotgun out of the closet and give me both barrels right in the chest._ Edward rubbed his head with another towel and let it drop in his lap. "Yes, sir. I promise."

"Well, Bella was pretty mad when she left here and she's not likely to return in a better humor. What do you say we get you cleaned up, so you make a better impression. _And back-burner any notion Bella might have of feeling sorry for you. _

Charlie stood and motioned Edward to follow.

"Go on and get a shower. You can throw your clothes outside the door and I'll dry them, while you get cleaned up."

Charlie had stopped at the bottom of the staircase; Edward stepped passed him, grateful for the arm load of towels. Human males occasionally found cold showers a relief from various maladies. However, Edward didn't think a shower would help him in the least, so he turned his mind to Alice's vision of Victoria and the conveniently timed reminder that Bella's plane tickets to Jacksonville were about to expire.

Although Edward's family guarded their thoughts carefully, Edward knew his family was concerned about his judgement. He had given them every reason to believe that when something involved Bella, Edward was likely to throw rational decision-making aside. The less-than-subtle encouragement for Edward to take Bella out-of-town was indicative of a new Cullen strategy that called for benching Edward. The family believed that the least hazardous place for Edward was beside Bella where they hoped simply seeing her would keep his mind focused and decrease Edward's inclination to act without fully considering the consequences.

Emotionlessly, Edward evaluated his behavior and acknowledged that the family's plan had merit and was solidly grounded in historical fact. Edward's obsession was unhealthy for everyone, including Bella, who at last glance had been wearing her dissatisfaction with Edward's propensity to behave as if he knew what was best for Bella. _Charlie's right; Bella's mad at me. _

The self-loathing that might have followed never materialized, because in staring at the image of grouchy Bella, as Charlie would put it, Edward had been reminded of the pounding of Bella's heart and her heightened scent. He also recalled that the pout Bella had worn was not what convinced Edward to let her turn the hose on him. Edward struggled to refocus on Charlie, who was moving around downstairs.

_The delinquent is taking too long. Maybe he's used to his mother putting him in a bath. _

Edward turned on the water, not bothering with an attempt to adjust the temperature, and stepped inside the shower; the room quickly filled with fog that formed condensation on the mirror, the fixtures and tiled surfaces. Edward stood motionless, absorbing the intense warmth of the fluid flowing over his body. The feeling sent Edward's thoughts scrambling back to Bella.

_Don't want Bella coming home and putting her mind to thinking about Edward soaping up in the shower. Need to think of a way to get him on out of there. _Charlie turned the cold water knob, filling the dish pan with water as he listened for screeching. He hoped disrupting the flow of cold water would send a scalding stream down on Edward's back.

Edward didn't mind. He wasn't listening to Charlie and the momentary difference in water temperature went by unnoticed. Edward didn't like being virtually trapped, but standing in the hot shower long enough to warm his skin did generate a few intriguing thoughts. He groaned.

"Edward? You alright in there?"

Charlie had lumbered up the stairs, rummaged through a draw to find a pair of basketball shorts and a tank for Edward, and then opened the bathroom door without Edward being even slightly aware of Charlie's presence.

"Edward?" Charlie grunted, letting the steam billow out into the hall. _This isn't the Holiday Inn, kid; the hot water will run out. _"I'll leave clothes and more towels right here on the . . ." Charlie searched the room for a dry surface. Abandoning the mission, Charlie said, "stuff's layin' across the sink."

"Thanks, Charlie," Edward mumbled as he cut the water and began to step out of the shower. Edward wasn't thinking clearly and came very close to revealing the nature of his current anxiety.

Fortunately, Charlie backed up quickly, slamming the door. _Jeez!_ He did not need the image of the naked delinquent to go with the ideas he already had about Bella and Edward. "Bring those wet towels down with you," Charlie shouted at the closed door.

Edward listened to the sound of Charlie scurrying down the steps; Edward hurriedly dried himself and dressed before Charlie popped the tab on his beer. Edward looked around and shook his head. Emerging from the bathroom too soon after Charlie had departed would look suspicious, so Edward occupied himself with sniffing the bottles and tubes in the room. He opened the medicine cabinet and peered inside. Bandages. Hair clips. Nail polish. A _scrunchy_. (Alice taught Edward that word.) Typical human accoutrements.

Shutting the cabinet, Edward looked in the mirror. Moisture obscured the reflection of his face. In a few hours, Bella would be standing before the same mirror. Edward could see her reaching up to wipe the droplets away, but she would stop and stare at the previously-invisble words and symbols Edward would leave for her to find. Maybe it would make Bella a little less angry with him.

In the livingroom, Charlie was watching the telecast of an earlier Mariner's game against Oakland. Things weren't going well for Charlie's team.

When Charlie heard Bella's truck pulling up in front of the house, he yelled to Edward, "Better get down here, kid, and make like we're having a nice time watching the game." Charlie wanted Bella to see that he and Edward had concluded a civilized man-to-man in the modern way: by paying homage to the hometown favorite. For Charlie, that also entailed sucking down copious amount of brew.

Charlie sighed as he heard Edward on the stairs. Athletics were the only activity a man could take on with a hope of winning and seeing immediate results for all his hard work and effort. Real life took too long, and if the preachers were right, a man like Charlie didn't have a prayer. Charlie's heartburn flared and his stomach growled.

Edward wondered what transgressions Charlie might have committed that could possibly earn damnation.

Silently agreeing to play his part in the bonding activity Charlie devised, Edward dropped the wet towels on the floor beside the washer, retrieved his favorite travel mug and grabbed the antacids for Charlie. Edward tossed them to Charlie just as Bella and Alice re-entered the house.

Bella didn't see the bottle, only the pleased expression working its way onto Charlie's lips. "Well, don't you both look all nice and cozy?" Bella sniped.

"Yep," Charlie muttered.

"Edward?" Alice eyed her brother warily; he was ignoring her mental chatter. She had much to yap about.

"Uh-huh," Edward said, looking over to Charlie. Alice was loud. "Charlie, maybe we should turn up the volume a little?"

Charlie scowled at the girls. "Mariner's are down. Show some respect." He nudged the volume button on the remote.

Bella huffed and turned toward the kitchen. Edward was there before she sat the food on the table.

He grabbed two boxes and a handful of napkins while Bella stared.

Charlie looked on approvingly. "Don't bother with plates or knives, Edward. A plastic spoon will do for the potato salad. Everything else is finger food."

"Cavemen," Bella hissed.

"Another beer, Charlie?" Edward inquired as he placed Charlie's order in his hands.

_Butt kisser_, Alice thought.

"Sure, Edward, that'd be _nice_." Charlie raised his eyebrows and looked at Bella.

Bella mouthed the word nice.

"Bella, maybe we should sit right here, so we can't disturb the rocking chair warriors." Alice parked herself at the kitchen table and opened a box that contained the overly cooked steak Bella had requested.

"Good idea, Alice." The rare steak Charlie ordered for Edward was lowing in Bella's face. She shook her head and carried the foil cradling the undercooked beef to the sink. She poured the bloody juice down the drain and looked over her shoulder toward Edward, who acknowledged her revulsion with a shrug.

_Letting Bella grouse will be better than make-up kissing tonight_. Edward was in no shape to resist Bella advances. He needed to hunt before their trip anyway.

Bella and Alice picked at the pimentos in their macaroni salad quietly, while the sounds of Charlie and Edward chewing and slurping were only slightly dampened by the unenthusiastic play-by-play and the thumping of the clothes dryer.

Edward walked into the kitchen, pretending to get more water while he poured the chewed contents of his mug into the disposal. He looked at Bella and shrugged again. _She's definitely peeved_, he thought.

"At least eat a roll," Edward said to Bella.

"Don't tell me what to do," she barked. Her skin flushed and Edward tingled all over in response. He retreated before Alice's inane blathering could break through his concentration.

Charlie heard Bella's retort. He wasn't sure if it had been fear or gratitude that had Edward keeping his distance from Bella. _Good things come to those who wait. _

"This steak is great, Charlie." Edward smirked at Bella and Alice. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

Charlie had a mouth full of beer, so he gave Edward a thumbs-up and winked. Charlie wished he had a chocolate chip pumpkin muffin for dessert.

When the next commercial interrupted the game, Edward took a more aggressive approach to fending off Alice's silent yammering.

"Charlie, Japser and Emmett are driving Bella and I to the airport tomorrow. Then, they are planning to checkout the nightlife near the university. My dad wanted me to ask if you thought that would be okay. I mean, since there's been trouble in town and all. And Emmett might have slipped up and said something about going to a gentleman's club. My mother is worried."

"Those boys ought come straight back home. No need to mess around where they don't belong," Charlie advised. _A couple of preppy college boys might look like gang banger bait. _

Edward could see Alice straining to see if Jasper and Emmett really had decided to go bar hopping when they should be looking for Victoria. Edward heard Alice choose another path.

"Esme wants to see you two off," Alice lied, "so we will all be going to town."

"No, I think Esme has a garden club meeting or gathering of the quilter's guild that she can't miss," Edward countered.

"Oh, well maybe." Alice stood, holding the tough steak. "Here, Edward, finish this." Alice walked into the room and dropped the meat into Edward's styrofoam to-go box.

Edward lifted the steak so Charlie could see Edward biting into it. He was so busy blocking Alice's non-verbal assault that he didn't hear Alice's plan to swipe his mug. "Let me get you more water," Alice purred. "I bet you need it." She had no intention of giving the cup back and there would be no hiding food up his sleeve, since he was wearing a Seattle SuperSonics tunic.

"Edward, it's too bad you'll be outa town; I've got an extra ticket to the Sounders game against Toronto this weekend. Our boy, Cam Weaver, is one hell of a rookie."

Bella must have been trying to remind Charlie that he didn't like Edward, because she chose that moment to drop the rare steak in front of Charlie. Before the meat slid off of the fork, she moved her eyes toward Edward. The steak almost missed Charlie's container and landed with a splat on the side of the box, showering gore on Charlie's pants.

"Huh?" Charlie gasped, grabbing the ribeye and holding it aloft.

"Extra," Bella snorted, staring at Edward as if she dared him to say or do anything.

Charlie squeezed the lifeless flesh and pulled some fat away before shoving part of the steak in his mouth. A bloody drip ran down Charlie's chin as he gnawed a mouthful away and nodded at Edward. If Charlie couldn't scare Edward, his new tactic called for helping Edward acquire a few habits that Bella would find disgusting. Charlie wiped his hands on his shirt and let his mouth fall open as he chewed.

Edward gave Charlie two thumbs-up. Charlie was grinning like a possum.

Bella wheeled and returned to the kitchen. "Maybe you should take Edward home, before he decides he wants to spend eternity with my father," Bella mumbled to Alice.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Come on, Edward. It's getting late, and if you are going out-of-town this weekend, you ought to spend a few waking hours with our parents. Charlie won't mind if you wear that stuff home, will you Charlie?"

"Hey, I just him got warm and dry," Charlie protested.

"Edward needs a little cooling off," Alice said under her breath.

***

A/N: FYI, the bistro at Forks Community Hospital is really called Spoons and they serve chocolate chip pumpkin muffins from time to time. Charlie says they're yummy.

**stake - (noun) a wooden pole to which a person was tied before being burned alive; also, according to vampire lore, a strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end so can be driven into the vampire's heart.**

**(verb) be assertive in defining or defending a position**

In the next chapter, Charlie finds the message on the mirror that Edward left for Bella. Will he wipe it off before she sees it? And what will Charlie say when Reneé calls Charlie to share her concerns about Edward?


	9. Home Alone

Okay, so it's like . . . this is your warning. Chapter 9 was produced to fulfill the expectations and the requests of one slightly demented young man; he thinks nothing could be funnier than farting on a bus or watching someone else get kicked in the balls. A special thanks to _all_ those who waited so patiently. Your understanding is appreciated. There are 4 more chapters in this story. They revolve around: 1) Bella's acceptance at Dartmouth; 2) the engagement announcement; 3) Edward's purchase of Bella's new car; and 4) the pre-wedding festivities. Of course, there will be a short epilogue.

Disclaimer: The wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the world of Twilight and all its inhabitants. I just wanna play with her toys. No copyright infringement is intended.

***

**DESIGNATED VISITING HOURS: CHAPTER 9 - Home Alone**

_Designated visiting hours. _The time of the day when Charlie imagined heunequivocally exerted his authority and justified the title of parent, father and guardian. The hours when Cullen willing walked across Charlie's threshold and almost enthusiastically submitted to whatever torments Charlie could think up - or whatever tortures the Fates conjured up on Charlie's behalf. It had been Charlie's last hope of separating Bella and Edward.

_Designated visiting hours_ had come to an end when Bella made parole.

The terms of Bella's new freedom included a curfew and providing Charlie with the details of her daily comings and goings. Charlie hoped some of those goings would revolve around renewing friendships on the reservation, particularly with Jacob Black; but as long as Bella was seeing someone whose family name was not Cullen (or Hale, for that matter), Charlie would try to be happy.

_In my dreams._ Charlie spewed an ugly string of consonants and vowels. Fortunately, the words those sounds formed were confined to Charlie's mind, because no gentleman would utter them even under great stress so casually.

(Blocks away, the unspoken expletives beat at Edward's head like a thudding over-amped bass line. Edward pulled over, straining to hear Charlie and piece together the snippets and random thoughts that escaped Charlie's head while he Bella slept. If Charlie was in a foul mood, it wouldn't hurt to delay their arrival just a bit, Edward reasoned.)

Charlie sighed. (So did Edward.)

The day after Bella received her acceptance letter from University of Alaska Southeast, their housing information handbook arrived in the mail. Bella barely touched it, but Charlie read it cover to cover three times. _Hard to imagine Bella choosing a school in a town planted right in the middle of a sportsman's dream_, Charlie thought. However, if Charlie could wrangle a couple of weeks away from Forks, Juneau would be a vacation paradise, though he didn't have any illusions that Bella would be eager to show him all the hot fishing spots.

Now, Charlie flipped the pages of the handbook absently, before he turned to the back and ran his finger down the columns of topics listed in the index. _Curfew. Prohibited items. Terms of occupancy. Community conduct. Parental communications. _Charlie found one he really liked: _judicial process._

Overall, Charle was disappointed; he couldn't find any mention of same-sex dormitories or the percentage of students living on-campus. Charlie wished Bella would go to one of those universities that required first-year students live in the dorms, so she wouldn't have a commute. He didn't like thinking about Bella trying to drive that old beast he'd bought off Billy Black around in Juneau.

_Edward's gotta car, _the nagging voice in Charlie's head said. _The shiny Volvo. _The voice mocked Charlie. He wondered if buying Bella a new car would make going to the same college as Cullen less attractive. _Probably not._

Charlie suspected Edward was plotting, since college applications and sample essays appeared whenever Edward showed up at the door. In fact, everything Charlie saw indicated that Edward Cullen couldn't wait to whisk Bella away from Forks and make her his . . . _roommate. _

(Charlie was right; Edward seldom carried paperwork in through the window when he made his late night visits to Bella's room. But for all intents and purposes, Bella and Edward, and Charlie - only he didn't know it - already were roommates.)

Charlie's effort to play nice with Edward for Bella's benefit the night before she flew to Jacksonville had been exhausting. When Alice towed the delinquent out of the front door, ending Edward's official visitation, Charlie didn't even bother verifying that delinquent was getting in his car and vacating the premises. Totally drained, Charlie went upstairs and crawled into bed, but fatigue and anxiety produced an annoying itch that threatened to keep Charlie awake all night. After several agonizing minutes, he decided a shower might be what he needed to relax.

The shower almost made Charlie too comfortable, and he could barely keep his eyes open while he was toweling off. If Charlie hadn't brushed his teeth, he would have missed it altogether: the message Edward had left on the bathroom mirror.

Charlie almost puked when he saw the words and symbols. He could barely believe that Edward Cullen had had the nerve to rub gushy sentiments onto the foggy glass. _No wonder the delinquent was taking his time in the shower. Getting the bathroom all steamy must have been kid's plan. _ _Ha! _Charlie could erase the possibility that Bella would even see the message with one swipe of his palm over the mirror, but he didn't. He just stared.

Edward

(heart)

Bella

4ever

Charlie was one-hundred percent certain Edward could never have dreamed up leaving an invisible message on the mirror all by himself. _Stupid magazines. _Charlie spied one of those goofy women's magazines that pretended to have the answer to everything a woman might ever want to know about romance. Well, Charlie was darn sure he had never wanted half the stupid stuff those magazine said men desired, and he was almost proud that never been good at doing he the kind of effete crap those rags said girls should expect. Charlie figured most of that mumbo was made up just like Bigfoot or alien abduction stories. However, the delinquent's passive-aggressive declaration on Charlie's turf was tantamount to leaving a flaming bag of turds at the front door, and it said three things: first, the delinquent was stupid enough to do something idiotic, like crooning under Bella's window; second, the kid wasn't above tossing out all vestiges of masculine self-respect; and third, Edward Cullen had become a permanent fixture in Charlie's life.

Charlie could barely call Bella a permanent fixture in his life.

Charlie remembered the visit Bella made before she dug in and said she despised the rain, she detested Forks, and most of all, she absolutely, unquestionably abhorred fishing and anything else Charlie and Bella might have done together in the great outdoors.

Of course, Bella had only used one verb to express her contempt and loathing for Charlie's way of life. "I hate this place. I hate rain. I hate clouds," Bella half-moaned. "I hate the way everybody looks at me. I hate going fishing. I hate. I hate. I hate. . ."

_You._ _I hate you for not being a dad like you're supposed to be, _Charlie imaged Bella saying in midst of having a full-blown adolescent tantrum. That thought made Charlie think about his summers with Bella.

Whenever Bella visited Forks, Charlie had taken time off and they had hung around town - mostly. He wasn't the Chief of Police back then and money was tighter. Bella's round-trip ticket from Phoenix cost Charlie a week's salary and a bit more, so pocket change for movies, duck pins and roller skating in Port Angeles was limited. Time eased the guilt Charlie felt for not doing more to keep his family together, but nothing removed the sting of not being the kind of man who could afford to see his only child more often.

Charlie wondered what life would have been like if his wife and child had stayed put in Forks. When the "what-ifs" and regrets set in, he could hear his dad chiding him. "Son, staring at the wood chips you whacked out of the tree means the tree's gonna fall on you if you don't get the hell out of the way." But Charlie didn't think the old man meant he shouldn't take a look at where'd he'd placed his cuts, especially if something went wrong.

Sometimes Charlie wondered if Bella would have liked Forks better if he had tried harder to encourage her to make friends when she was a kid. The few times he and Billy Black got their bunch together, Bella spent their fishing trips practically mute, and Charlie other efforts to promote friend-making activities were equally abysmal. He cringed, recalling a particularly uncomfortable incident that occurred when Bella was six.

"Charles Swan, where have you been keeping this precious child?" Mrs. Stanley chirped, as she bent over Bella in the library parking lot. The woman's blouse fell away from her chest, revealing the fact her ample bosom had been squeezed into a brassiere that was at least one size too small. Without asking, the woman removed a rubber band from Bella's hair and magically produced two barrettes, which were then expertly fastened in Bella's locks.

Bella cocked her head and looked intently into Charlie's face, as if to ask, "Is this okay?" Charlie took a step back so Mrs. Stanley couldn't see him shrug.

"You should bring this little button over to play with my Jessica. She would love to show her toys to Isabella while we get better acquainted."

Charlie had an ear for the subtle intonation that held a hidden agenda. He didn't know where Mr. Stanley was, and Charlie wasn't interested in finding out or getting acquainted. All Charlie needed to know about the loosely-dressed Mrs. Stanley was that she had blown the stop sign at an intersection near her house twice in the last year, and the judge and the county prosecutor had let her off with a warning and a shaky promise to attend traffic school.

Charlie claimed he and Bella had a date with a 50 pound steelhead trout on the Hoh River and declined Mrs. Stanley's invitation. He remembered thinking that if the Stanley child (he wouldn't automatically remember her name until she distinguished herself by sprouting breasts early and adopting her mother's provocative taste in clothing) was as talkative as her mother, Bella wouldn't be interested in hanging out at the Stanley house anyway. At the time, Charlie bet that if he gave Bella a choice between going fishing and 'breaking bread' with Mrs. Stanley, Bella'd ask for her own rod and reel.

"Well, you have to eat." Mrs. Stanley's toothy grin would scare starving headhunters. "All that fishing and hanging out in the forest makes Charlie Swan a hungry boy." Mrs. Stanley adjusted her plan of attack and made a flanking assault. "Come for dinner. I'll make a brisket."

"Really, it's nice of you to offer, but we've got dinner all lined up," Charlie insisted. He would later glance nervously over his shoulder, checking the road as he waited in front of the pick-up window at the Tastee Queen.

Technically, Charlie Swan was the most highly visible and most committed bachelor in Forks. When word got around that Bella was making her yearly appearance in town, the single women who hadn't yet learned that Charlie kept his time with Bella to himself, would invariably extend offers of food and babysitting services. The occasional unsolicited casserole would show up on his porch, but they all ended up in the back of a garbage truck despite the real need Charlie had for them; the truth was that most of the meals Charlie threw on his table came out of a grease-stained paper sack.

On the first day of Bella's tenth summer in Forks, when Charlie set a styrofoam box cradling a sloppy joe and potato chips down in front of Bella, she announced, "I _know_ how to cook, Dad" Bella stared placidly. She had always been good at that. "Where's the vegetable? There is supposed to be a vegetable."

"Potatoes are vegetables," he told her, as he shoved a handful of the salty snacks into his mouth. "And this roll is made from flour. That's a plant." Charlie paused, licking the grease from his fingers. "Vegetables are plants." Charlie stumbled over how to explain the relationship between meat and vegetables to his tender-hearted daughter. "And the cow that made this meat ate grass and . . . "

"Ew, gross!" Bella huffed and rolled her eyes. "_Charlie." _(Bella had never really called him that to his face before.) "I need vitamins and good stuff. I. Am. Growing. _Charlie." _Placid had given way to condescending.

At the time, he had opened the refrigerator and retrieved the only edible things that didn't come from a restaurant or out of a can. Charlie sat a couple of oranges and an apple on the table beside Bella's sandwich.

"Well, if you're going to cook, we're going to have to make a trip to the grocery store." Charlie pulled a small notebook from the duty-jacket hanging draped across the back of his chair. "Let's make a list."

"I can do it," Bella told him, displaying a pencil that she must have had tucked in a pocket. Charlie watched her pull a page from the metal spiral metal binding and tear the paper tatters away. She pushed them around on the table while he opened doors.

Charlie's kitchen cabinets were more or less a repository for fishing lures and gun cleaning supplies. Hastily, he organized the few food-type items he found onto one shelf. He'd been surprised to discover six cans of spaghetti, one of which was completely rust-free, and a can of peanuts. There were a few spices that Reneé had probably bought eons ago and various packets of salt and pepper and other condiments. He didn't think that kind of stuff ever went bad. A couple cans of potted meat, a jar of peanut butter and the cereal he purchased just before Bella's arrival completed the available culinary selection.

Charlie looked back at Bella. "So what you do think we need?" he asked.

Bella peered back at Charlie, like the teacher who ruined a much-anticipated spring break with a stinking book report. Charlie could still see the old bat waving instructions at him and saying, "Well Charlie, I'm sure your father will let you take your book with you on the fishing trip." Bella, on the other hand, didn't say a word as she held the list aloft for Charlie to read. _Everything_, it said.

Later, Charlie had pushed the cart behind Bella as she slowly walked up and down each aisle at the market. He didn't think that the assorted boxes of Tuna Helper and Minute Rice she threw into their shopping basket would sustain life any better than his canned pastaronis with meatballs, but arguing was futile. When Bella started dragging green beans and peas off the store shelves, Charlie shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Do you like corn?" Bella asked earnestly, her head moving from side to side as she searched the ingredients list.

"Sure," Charlie replied, plucking the cream and the kernel varieties from Bella's hands. Before he get his hands back into his jacket, Bella shoved another can at him.

"Hominy?" What's a hominy?" Charlie mused out loud.

"White corn," she informed him. "We have it in menudo."

"Is that band still around?"

"Soup, Ch - er, Dad. Menudo is soup."

Apparently it was something Mexican. Something that wasn't sitting next to the Doritos or the refried beans and tortillas. If Charlie had known what was in menudo, he would have prayed Bella wasn't thinking about trying to make it. What Bella _was _trying to do was to make Charlie eat more vegetables.

"Lettuce and celery don't come in a can," Bella told Charlie as she _stalked_ toward the produce aisle.

Charlie manned up and followed her just in time to keep her from falling headlong into a wall of canned soda pop. Bella looked up sheepishly and gave him a mumbled apology. Bella sense of balance was always a little off, like the playing field was never going to be quite level for her.

Bella's embarrassment over her near-accidental unseating of several hundred cans effectively ended the conversation. Bella quietly placed a few more cans in their cart. Occasionally, she glanced around. _Probably trying to see if anybody saw her trip._

"Hey Bella, do you know how to make stroganoff? Real stroganoff. Not the kind in one of those boxes"

"Umm, I don't think you can get stroganoff in Phoenix that doesn't come in a box, Dad."

"Well, my mother's stroganoff is famous," Charlie boasted. "And you're in luck; I happen to have Grannie Swan's very own handwritten recipe. I might even remember what we need to make it." He paused when she turned and gave him a blank look. "What do you say?

"Brussel sprouts?" Bella stated her terms.

"Brussel Sprouts?" Charlie echoed. His mustache twitched and he scratched his chin like he was weighing matters of life and death. _Where did she learn to negotiate for everything, _Charlie clearly remembered thinking.

"Brussel sprouts," Bella said firmly.

"Brussel sprouts." Charlie nodded affirmatively. He wondered then, as he did even now, if he should tell Bella that he could cook.

Charlie threw himself into his policework and into the job of caring for his ailing parents after Reneé carried his daughter out of his real life. Charlie thought of his daily activities as real life and everything else as a brush with the surreal, something that couldn't be examined too closely lest it completely disappear. Something like Reneé.

Taking care of Charlie's mom and dad gave Charlie something to think about, mostly cooking and cleaning, and a place to focus his energy. Between the chores, the double shifts and the criminal justice classes Charlie needed for a promotion, two years had come and gone before Charlie realized his fishing license had expired and that his fishing gear was still in the closet where Reneé insisted it belonged. Charlie resolved to trade domestic duties for refining his skills as an outdoorsman when Charlie's parents didn't need his help anymore. And that's exactly what he did.

The memory of filleting something fishy smelling brought Charlie back to the recollection of his shopping trip with Bella.

Charlie had continued to plod slowly behind Bella while she made a show of sniffing and tapping the fruits and vegetables they passed. She held a tomato up appraisingly as pronounced the oft-miscategorized fruit ripe and ready for consumption.

"Sniff," she ordered Charlie, who thought that best the scent could offer would be a mildly acidic accompaniment to a burger.

Bella rose on tiptoes to brandish the tomato. With her characteristic lack of coordination and grace, Bella wobbled, pitched forward and then over-corrected. Her legs pedaled backward as if they might catch her upper torso before it met the floor. They failed, leaving a pyramid of brightly colored lemons to break her fall.

Holding his breath, Charlie surveyed the accident. Nothing obviously broken. No blood and only a lemon or two out of place. Bella eyes were fixed on Charlie. The force of her stare told him that she was waiting for him to do something and that she was afraid to look around because she might discover that every eye in the produce section was on her. Charlie smiled and reached for her hand.

"Here, let's see if we can rescue you from these vicious lemons."

"Dad . . ." Bella's lips trembled and her eyes filled with tears.

"No harm done." Charlie talked like people fell into citrus fruit everyday.

But just as Charlie latched onto Bella's hand and began to pull, the mountain behind Bella shifted and fell apart. Bella sat back on the floor and burst into tears.

"Shh, shh, shh, honey. It's alright." Charlie scrambled after the lemons as they rolled across the uneven floor. "No need for waterworks, Bells."

"How's it going? You folks look like you could use a hand," the produce manager, Mr. Cheney, observed.

Bella sniffed in response and pulled at her hair, releasing ragged bangs that dropped down over her red eyes. Charlie shrugged. He found a slightly-used napkin in his jacket. It had probably been in his pocket since Bella and Charlie's trip to the diner on the previous day. Charlie shook the crumbs out onto the floor. A split-second later he realized that he'd scattered the harden bits of food right where Mr. Cheney was sweeping. Charlie looked up and lifted his eyebrows in apology.

"S'alright," Mr. Cheney mumbled. "She needs to blow her nose."

Charlie chuckled and gently lifted the napkin to Bella's nose. "Blow." The attempt was weak. "You can do better," Charlie told her.

Charlie was rewarded with a horrific mucus-moving sound that came from Bella's nostrils. Grimly, Charlie thought that old napkin he cupped over those orifices was not going to hold it all. The noise finally stopped, but not before sticky slime touched Charlie's fingers and coated Bella's upper lip.

"Uh, here's a paper towel." Mr. Cheney came to Charlie's rescue.

"Thanks," Charlie dabbed at Bella's face. "That was really kinda funny, Bells. Were you trying to get a laugh?"

"Dad," Bella whined. "You're never going to that pizza place that shows the Three Stooges again. Getting hit over the head and falling and down and stuff isn't really funny." The embarrassment in Bella's eyes was being replaced by anger.

Charlie decided a little demonstration was worth any self-induced humiliation Charlie might reap. He looked over into the next produce aisle and back at Bella. "Say, Mr. Cheney, is that a banana peel on the floor?

Bella's eyes narrowed a bit more and she clenched her teeth. Her jaw barely moved as she uttered one cautionary word. _"Dad."_

Before Bella could stand up compeletely Charlie loped away. "I better get that banana peel. We don't want another accident."

Of course, Charlie was going to make sure an accident was going to happen or at least make it appear one was happening.

When Charlie was sure Bella couldn't see his feet, he started flailing and running in place like he was afraid of falling. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"

"Be careful there, Chief Swan. Don't step on that old banana peel." Mr. Cheney was quick on the draw and jumped in to play his part.

"Oh, noooooo . . . " Charlie gurgled, trying very hard to sound serious.

Bella's mouth twisted wtih the effort to keep amusement off her face and she might have succeeded if it hadn't been for the prop Mr. Cheney started waving.

As luck would have it, Mr. Cheney, in addition to being the best produce manager in Forks, was a magician and his slight of hand was impressive. In the time it took for Charlie to pretend to fall, Cheney had managed to peel a banana. The limp yellow rind was exactly what Charlie's ruse needed.

Charlie saw Bella look around. He was flopping on the floor like a salmon and every eyeball around was on him. Not a single person was looking at Bella. Charlie hoped that Bella knew she was no longer the center of attention and that the knowledge might bring her some relief.

Unfortunately, Charlie failed to consider that Bella had reached that age when a man's female offspring would find any action on the part of the parent, beyond staying tight-lipped and cheerfully doling out funds, a serious embarrassment. Bella expressed her displeasure by stomping off toward the front of the store.

_Sometimes a dad's gotta do what a dad's gotta do_, Charlie thought, grateful that he wasn't buying unmentionables of any kind.

Since Bella had moved back to Forks, the most humiliating thing Charlie ever had to do was eat healthier at home. Otherwise, Charlie was still getting his dinners at the diner just the way he liked them: heavy on the salt, slightly greasy, and, except for a pickle or two and fries, totally vegetable-free.

That last requirement was important, because Bella had she resumed trying to force feed Charlie veggies and she took every opportunity to ruin a decent casserole with a handful of peas and carrots. Charlie felt a little sorry for himself, because these days, Bella made all her casseroles from scratch and was counting everything from calories to the number of chews Charlie was giving a mouthful of noodles and gravy.

"This prepared junk is way too expensive and delivers your sodium requirement for the entire month, Ch - Dad," Bella admonished him the first time she looked at his stock of Hungry Man Dinners, vienna sausages, and Dinty Moore stew.

Charlie's stomach growled, reminding him dinner time had passed and that Bella and Edward should be soon be home. Charlie looked at the clock on the microwave and then at the meat thawing on the counter. He could have prepared a meal for himself, but leaving the fixings out guaranteed that Bella would scurry around the kitchen fussing over Charlie for a few minutes.

Charlie eyed a box of gelatin. Gelatin was old man food. _Grumpy old man. Toothless coward. _Charlie left the box on the counter where Bella couldn't miss it.

As Charlie walked down the hall and fired up the front light, the house phone began to ring. Charlie checked the caller id. He recognized the number. _ Jake . . . for the hundredth time._ _Boy's getting to be as big a pain in my ass as Edward is, _Charlie thought.

Charlie was thankful the caller wasn't Reneé. That hen had called Friday as soon as she got Bella and the delinquent bedded down for the night.

***

"You didn't tell me they were serious. Serious isn't even the word for it. Ugh. Charlie, it's creepy, I tell you. Absolutely creepy! I don't like it one bit."

"Reneé honey, they are going to hear you," Phil said in the background.

Reneé ignored Phil. Her mouth was going a mile a minute. "Phil, where did you take the fresh flowers I put in the guest room? They were for Bella; since she's not in there I wanna put them someplace else."

Phil was trying to talk. So was Charlie.

"What do you mean Bella's not in your guest room? You didn't let them go to a hotel_ alone_ did you? Reneé? Reneé?" Charlie was steamed.

"Jesus, Charlie! Of course, I did _not_ let them go to a hotel. I wanted my little girl in the bed right next to me. We're going to catch Mansfield Park - Bella always liked that - on cable and eat popcorn. Edward's in the guest room. Alone."

"Baby, you sure you don't want me to nail a board across the door?" Phil asked.

Charlie wondered if Phil was teasing. Or not. _'Cause it sounded like a good idea._

"Charles Swan, it is your fault."

_When wasn't it?_

"I'm putting you on notice; you let Bella get carried away with this Edward Cullen."

_Yack. Yack Yack. Does Reneé_ _ever shut her mouth? How did I manage to put up with her?_ _And why in heaven's name would I want her back?_

"What do you know about that boy's parents? Didn't you tell me the child was adopted? And you say the young man visits Bella everyday? Doesn't he have friends besides Bella? Do you think it is normal for them to be so . . . so . . . well, I don't know . . . exactly. But it's not right; I put Phil on the couch in the family room, where he can see what goes on downstairs."

"Uh, does this mean, you don't want me to take Bella to the doctor?" Charlie had mustered all the innocence he could. Nonetheless, the question sent Reneé into a tizzy.

"Oh my God! Phil! You hid all the stuff, right?"

"Hid the galoshes, the movies and the magazines . . . " Phil had quite a list.

"Reneé, I'm not sure the delinquent - I mean Edward - would know what to do with . . ."

"Don't be naïve, Charlie. They teach that in school these days."

"This is Forks, remember. You're the one who said living in Forks was like living at the turn-of-the-century. I'm pretty sure you weren't talking about 1999."

"And he's too polite. Don't you think he's too polite?" I think he's too polite."

_Whawhawhaaaa. Time to stir the pot. _"Come to think of it, I've never seen him, you know, s_cratch_. He's wound up pretty tight. The girl keeps him on a short leash." _And Bella doesn't think I know how to cook._

"I thought you said he plays baseball? He doesn't have any interest in going to the playoffs with Phil. What kind of kid flies to Florida, where it's warm and sunny, to stay inside and do homework? It's not natural, I tell you. It's not."

Reneé kept a steady pace, poking and prodding at each and every one of Charlie's concerns.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to talk to Bella about how she acts around Edward and try to get her to apply to school here in Florida. Have you noticed how closely he watches her? Like he thinks she's going to fall or step out in the street in front of a car. His paranoia will undermine her self-confidence. Bella acts so old. Have you noticed how old _Bella_ acts? You'd think she's been trapped in a relationship for years and years, instead of months, and . . ."

Charlie knew that if Bella got wind of Reneé's shenanigans, Bella would whip out that 'I'm old enough' speech; and an argument might push Bella into making Edward call a cab and take her to some fancy hotel. _ Kid probably had enough cash to cover it, _Charlie remembered thinking.

Charlie peered out at the street from behind the living room curtains. _Yep, I'm gonna play the 'good' cop and let Reneé have that 'bad' cop routine. And while I'm at it, I'll teach Master Cullen a thing or two. _

(A few blocks away, Edward chuckled. _Time to take Bella home._)

Vehicle traffic was almost nonexistent on Charlie's street, so when headlights illuminated the bushes across the road and a dog began barking, Charlie knew Bella was home. He began counting down the seconds as soon as the Volvo rolled to a stop in front of the house and the engine noise ceased. _Damn car_, Charlie grumbled silently before stepping away from the drapes and letting them fall back into place.

Charlie was suddenly feeling grouchy again and a little melancholy, but the opening of the front door and the sound of footfall reminded Charlie that Bella would leave for college soon. _Leave for good. _And, if what he suspected were true, the delinquent was planning to follow Bella. _At least,_ Charlie thought, _I'll know what kind of company she's keeping. Sort of. _

Charlie hated to admit that he knew little about Edward Cullen other than Edward loved Bella. But little by little, Charlie was beginning to believe that was all he needed to know.

***

A/N: The University of Alaska - Southeast's pdf version of their_ Residence Life Handbook_ has neither a directory nor an index. Charlie thinks it should.

In the next chapter:

The mailbox was full. Pacific Power. Outdoors. Field and Stream. Dartmouth College.

_Dartmouth College? _Charlie snorted and fingered the corner of the envelope. Edward said he had been accepted to Dartmouth. Dartmouth was Ivy League. _Did Bella apply to Dartmouth? _

Charlie's mouth was instantly dry, even though he beginning to sweat.


	10. Surveillance

**Chapter Ten: Surveillance**

These days, Charlie considered _designated visiting hours _as that time of the day when he drew on his years of experience as a law enforcement officer and engaged in that venerable police activity known as _surveillance_. And Charlie was on full alert. When Edward showed up at the house, Charlie hunkered down in his favorite chair and pretended to worship the television and whatever was on it. Charlie did these things because he _knew_ that Bella had something up her sleeve and he figured Edward was in on it.

So far, Bella had refused to give Charlie the slightest hint what she was thinking about when it came to her plans for college and graduation was three days away. Bella had even rejected Charlie's attempts to help her financially and pay the deposit needed to hold her seat in Alaska. Despite his assurances that he believed any funds tucked into his retirement account would be better spent on Bella's future, she insisted that her education was _her_ responsibility - and no one else's.

Of course, Charlie began to fantasize that Bella was thinking about staying on in Forks. He imagined her enrolling at Peninsula College in Port Angeles and coming home every night to make dinner. Maybe Charlie would buy one of those fuel-efficient little cars for Bella to drive. _Heck, I'll get one of those hybrids. Bella will like that._ _Maybe Bella would learn to really love Forks_.

Uncertainty gnawed at Charlie, but he was soothed by the slightly confused and tense expression Edward was wearing most evenings. Charlie shook his head. Congenial acquiescence to Edward's nearly constant presence had slipped in stealthily, and that acceptance threatened to spoil the flavor of the tension Charlie tried to create - and enjoyed - whenever Edward dared show his face.

Charlie chuckled. If Bella could play sneaky, Charlie figured he could, too. _Undercover,_ Charlie said to himself, as he pulled one of his mother's crocheted afghans across his lap. (Police work was seldom strenuous or mentally taxing.)

Charlie went out of his way to celebrate Edward's rare absence and to act grumpy whenever Edward was around. _Subterfuge._ Charlie didn't want Bella to realize he was getting soft on Edward any more than he wanted her to know he daydreamed about shooting Edward and turning him into chum.

-#-

The day after Bella and Edward returned from Jacksonville, Harold Greene called. He wanted Charlie to be aware of an incident that occurred at the high school. Greene related he had chased off 'a scary Indian', who threatened Edward Cullen. According to the gossip among Forks students, the argument stemmed from a rivalry for the affections of the Charlie's daughter.

Charlie could barely keep his excitement to himself. Until Jacob showed up at school, he had been freezing Bella out - just like Billy was telling Jacob to do, ignoring Bella's notes and calls, while Charlie prodded and poked at Bella's need to play the caretaker.

"That sounds serious. We don't want trouble," Charlie told the principal. Of course, Charlie really had been looking forward to a little public skirmish between Jacob and Edward; but he hoped he could keep Jacob out of trouble, and that might be harder to do if Jacob was trespassing on school property.

"It sounds like you're describing Jacob Black." Charlie couldn't lie. Anyway, if Greene got an itch to punish the kid and had to track him down, the idea might cement.

"The way I see it is that Bella's older than Jacob and she's planning for college now. Growing up and moving on. Being left behind is hard on Jacob. Let me call his dad and I'm sure that will be the end of it. You won't see Jacob Black again unless he's been invited."

The principal agreed and promised to keep Charlie informed of any further problems. "Cullen . . . he looked like he was thinking about ripping something apart," Greene warned.

"I've got my eye on things here at home. Trust me, if there's trouble brewing, I'll see it."

Sure enough, the Bella who practically floated back from Florida and skipped out of the house to jump in Edward's car early Monday morning was not the perturbed, anxious she-cat who came home that night and tossed a pot pie in the microwave for Charlie.

Instead of claiming a chair in the kitchen while Bella puttered, Edward meandered into the living room where Charlie was checking out the Weather Channel. Occasionally, Edward turned around to look at Bella like he wanted to ask her something.

Maybe something like _'what's up with you tonight, Bells?'_

"PMS," Charlie had conveniently said aloud as Bella walked by with a box filled with plastic for the recycling center.

Instantly, she froze and gave Charlie one of those faces that quite articulately expressed half a dozen swear words. Her reaction coincided with Edward's sniff and a puzzled bunching of eyebrows.

Charlie decided the mere mention of PMS rendered a disturbed expression on Edward's face, although there was no way Bella could have seen it. However, she must have heard the sniff and that was enough to earn Edward a proverbial swat to the back of the head with a dish towel.

"I'm not talking to you any more tonight," she had told Edward. If either Edward or Charlie held any hope she would keep that promise, their optimism was pointless, because she immediately began to rattle off a list of things she wanted Edward to know. Bella didn't directly mention Jacob's presence at school, but she alluded to the visit.

"You can't decide everything for me. I have a mind of my own. I have feelings of my own and I can talk to whom every I wish, whenever and wherever I want."

Charlie was having a great time watching Bella torment the boy she'd been so eager to fly off to Florida with only days before. Charlie even turned the volume on the flatscreen down, so he wouldn't miss a word.

"I know. I know. I know." Edward only knew three words and it was plain to Charlie that despite Edward's assurances to the contrary, he didn't know a doggone thing.

"You keep saying that," Bella growled. "I'd like to see a little of that understanding in action."

"It's just.." Charlie sat up; Edward was getting ready to step into quick sand and Charlie didn't want to miss the drama.

Unfortunately, Bella spoiled the event by being classically Bella. That is, she tripped and scattered junk all over the floor. While she stood there shaking her head, Edward began retrieving the rolling bottles. Charlie squinted. Edward was a little too fast, like he was hastily trying to conceal the evidence of a crime; but his reaction hardly seemed appropriate, since it appeared Bella was the one contemplating murder.

"It's okay if I decide to clean up without asking, right?" Edward said when he dropped the last bottle back into the recycle bin.

Charlie thought Edward should have manned up and kept his mouth zipped tight.

"You're always doing nice things for other people without asking. So as long as I'm helping you, it's okay. Right?"

When Bella didn't answer, Charlie guessed she wasn't happy about Edward taking a turn at... _selflessness_, Charlie grumbled wordlessly. Bella hadn't lived long enough to understand that spreading that kind of thing around looked pretty selfish and uncaring when the person who was doing the spreading forgot to think about the impact her actions had on other people - people who were not recipients of the do-goodery. A person like Jacob Black.

Charlie smiled remembering how he'd played on Bella's instincts and inexperience when he tried to get her hooked up with Jake again. **"Keep trying, Bella. I know you'll do the right thing. You're a good person." **As he spoke, Charlie had seen the hesitation in Bella's eyes, and he wondered if Bella sensed Charlie was trying to manipulate her. He didn't care; the seeds of cognitive dissonance had been sown, taken root and seemed to be thriving.

After all, a couple of weeks had now passed and Bella's continued calls and visits to Jacob suggested that Bella might be making a few plans that didn't involve her delinquent. Charlie noticed that Edward's face hardened whenever Jacob's name was mentioned and sometimes Edward even closed his eyes, like he was trying to pretend he hadn't heard Bella rush breathlessly to answer the ringing phone. But . . . that was before Jacob went and pulled a pig-headed stunt like kissing Bella. _Go figure. _

When Jacob followed Bella into the house yesterday, Charlie was surprised to see him. At first, Charlie didn't see the harm in a little peck on the lips. It was just a kiss. But it was kiss that made Bella mad. A kiss that Bella didn't want.

As much as Charlie dreamed of seeing an altercation between Edward and Jacob, Charlie wanted it to happen over something petty and not because Jake was in the wrong. And this time Jake _was_ absolutely wrong. Worse, Jake seemed proud of his behavior and he freely admitted that he'd forced a kiss on Bella. Then, Jacob arrogantly waited around to gloat in front Edward.

Charlie had assumed that Edward would be angry and confrontational, but when he arrived, he calmly and gently examined Bella's hand. His tone had been controlled, even when he promised Bella that he would _take care of it._ Nothing in his demeanor suggested violence, but Charlie felt it there simmering, chaffing under Jake's eagerness.

Against Charlie's advice, Jacob followed Bella and Edward outside.

While Charlie stood at the window watching and straining to hear the conversation between Edward and Jacob, it finally dawned on Charlie that maybe Jacob's kiss had been very different from the shy kisses Charlie had seen Edward give Bella. When Jacob had leaned past Edward to leer openly at Bella, Charlie's anger flared and he fought the urge to rush to Bella's defense.

Charlie was going to have some quality time with Jacob Black.

Jacob stepped back into the grass and watched the Volvo head down the street before he turned and strolled to the house. Charlie watched Jacob pucker his lips, like he was whistling. That was the last straw. As Jacob was casually reaching for the door knob, Charlie flung the door open and stomped out onto the porch, backing Jacob down the stairs.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" _What the hell have I been doing?_ Charlie thought. _Encouraging this . . . this . . . what did Edward call him? Mongrel? Right, mongrel. _"I don't care how long I've known you and your Dad, if you _ever_ touch Bella again without permission - in any way - you'll have someone a whole lot madder and meaner than Edward Cullen to deal with."

Jacob's face was frozen. "Huh?" Jacob was struggling to process the fact that Charlie wasn't going to congratulate him again on his achievement or on his handling of Cullen.

"I'm gonna talk to Bella when she gets home. I hope you kept your hands to yourself, because if I hear that you touched Bella in any way that made her afraid or you hurt her, I'll have you castrated."

Jacob looked shocked and hurt, like a puppy that didn't understand what was wrong with chewing on shoes or peeing on the carpet.

"Now, get out of my yard and get on home. By the time you get there, I'm sure you'll have found a way to explain your stupidity to your old man. I'll bet he'll still have a few questions for you after I get done telling him that you lost your mind and decided to paw Bella."

Jacob found his voice. "Aw, Charlie, I didn't mean any harm."

"Go home, Jake. Go home now."

Charlie spun toward the door and stepped forward. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw that Jacob was still standing. "Do I need to fetch my shotgun?"

-#-

The sound of footsteps on the porch pulled Charlie back into the moment and alerted Charlie to the arrival of the mail. Then, Charlie heard the Volvo pulling up in front of the house. When Bella and Edward didn't come in right away, Charlie used the mail as an excuse to go outside.

The box was full. Pacific Power. Outdoors. Field and Stream. Dartmouth College - Student Activities. _Dartmouth College? _Charlie snorted and fingered the corner of the envelope. Edward said he had been accepted at Dartmouth. Dartmouth was Ivy League. _Did Bella apply to Dartmouth? _The cost of attending Dartmouth was probably half of Charlie's yearly salary.

Charlie's mouth was instantly dry, even though he was beginning to sweat. He looked over at the Volvo. Edward was standing beside the car dutifully holding Bella's door open. Bella was ignoring Edward's outstretched hand.

"It was her wasn't it? You just don't want to tell me. But it _was_ her."

"Her? Who?" Edward asked; he seemed puzzled.

Charlie was torn between the need to hustle that envelop from Dartmouth into the house - where he could hide it until he had a chance to read it - and hanging around outside so he wouldn't miss a word of Edward's interrogation. This tiff looked too good to miss.

"That blonde," Bella spat.

Edward was baffled. "Blonde?"

Even though Charlie wasn't looking at Bella directly, he could tell she was bright red. He'd seen it a lot during the previous week. _Boy, is she pissed_, Charlie thought. _Looks like Bella's temper is going to make for fine entertainment tonight_.

Unfortunately, if Bella broke her other hand slugging Edward, she might not be able to count on his dad to fix it up for her. Charlie moaned quietly and he made his way back inside. He headed to the couch and tossed the mail - minus the Field and Stream magazine - on a stack of old newspapers. _Maybe Bella won't notice. Plain view._

An eternity later, Bella and Edward finally made it into the house. Edward was begging. "Could you give me a hint? Please?"

"Aw, come on Bella, it's officially your last weekend as a high school student. Just tell him what he did wrong, so he can apologize, and you two can get down to planning your escape from Forks. It's not like he can read minds."

Edward and Bella turned to look at Charlie as if they'd discovered a new species of plant life. Uncultivated intrudous.

"You get caught looking at another girl there, Edward?" Charlie smiled broadly and laughed, seizing the opportunity to help Edward improve upon another bad habit. "You gotta learn to keep those dark sunglasses on as much as possible. Makes it hard for the women to catch you looking in the wrong places and at the wrong people," Charlie said smugly.

"Tanya," Bella growled. "Her name is Tanya and Edward's been keeping her a secret."

Edward's jaw dropped only a split second before Charlie's did. He had no way of knowing that Edward had thoroughly rejected Tanya's companionship or that Bella had only recently learned of her _preference_ for Edward.

"I explained about Tanya and I thought you understood." Edward was glancing nervously between Charlie and Bella. "I . . . I never dated Tanya. She's a . . . cousin."

Charlie didn't miss a beat. "Well, you shouldn't have a problem with that, Edward, seeing how your foster sisters are dating your foster brothers. Or did I get the high school gossip wrong?"

Edward might have mumbled a response, but Charlie wasn't sure; he was too busy congratulating himself for skewering Edward. _Bella might be able to break your heart, kid, but nobody can kick the chair out from under you like old Charlie Swan can._

Edward flinched. _True_, he internally agreed. _That is true. _

"Sir," Edward started. "I assure you that Bella is the only woman to whom I have ever given my heart and . . ."

Charlie began waving his hands. "Enough already. You don't have to convince me. So it would be nice if you'd skip the sappy stuff, 'cause it's gonna make me sick to my stomach."

Bella broke the tractor beam stare she had on Edward long enough to roll her eyes at Charlie. But, she immediately cut her eyes back to Edward, who blinked at her sheepishly before turning to look at Charlie again. _Damn._ Charlie's gaze was laser-guided, easily as intimidating as Bella's. Edward had never heard of humans who could stare down vampires and no one was ever going to hear about it from Edward. It was the kind of anomaly that Emmett would tease Edward about forever.

"I don't know what Bella is talking about, but I swear I have conducted myself honorably and my treatment of Bella has been respectful."

Charlie loved seeing Edward verbally flail about. What made it even better was that as long as Bella was pissed, Charlie could get away with acting downright ornery.

"Well, it sounds like you've got some explaining to do before Bella decides she's a southpaw." Charlie let his face wrinkle up just enough to show he was hoping Bella would start whaling on Edward. Charlie always loved a good wrestling match. When he was in high school, nobody could pin him. Charlie regretted he hadn't recognized Bella's talent for brawling earlier. These days girls played all the sports.

"Dad," she hissed.

"What's the matter, Bella? Edward doesn't kiss as good as Jacob?"

Bella practically threw herself out of her chair, stomping off toward the laundry room.

"I hope you learn how to wash your own clothes this summer," she yelled.

Charlie shrugged. Doing laundry was another little domestic duty that Charlie let Bella think he was incapable of doing. It wasn't that Charlie was lazy; he just liked the feeling he got from having her worry about him.

Edward walked into the living room and started to sit down. Maybe he was going to give convincing Charlie of his innocence another go. _I'm not the one you need to impress, kid. _Charlie handed Edward a laundry basket. Edward nodded and made his way to toward Bella.

Charlie could hear Edward whispering, but he couldn't make sense of the sounds. They were meaningless. Charlie wandered over to the refrigerator and reached in for a cold can. Gently fingering the pull tab, he listened closer.

"It was her. She was here. You're keeping things from me - again."

"She's in Alaska, Bella," Edward sighed softly.

Even Charlie was comforted by the reassuring tone of his voice. The thought was quickly replaced by revulsion, as he stepped toward the living room and into a spot with a better view.

"Like I said, she's in Alaska, and she's never been to Forks. Why would I withhold information that could decrease your anxiety? "

"Why?" Bella snarled, her voice rising over the slamming of a metal door. "Why indeed." Bella paused. "Her family won't come here, but she came to see if I was worth the trouble I've caused."

For a moment, Charlie's mind raced back to the day when Edward insinuated that he would turn down his acceptance at Dartmouth to follow Bella to Alaska. That might make Ivy League-hungry relatives, foster or not, upset. There was no reason for Charlie to ever suspect that Edward's Denali cousins were furious about the death of Laurent, who had been intent on devouring Bella; that was why they refused to come to Forks and help the Cullens deal with the vampire threat in Seattle.

"Bella, this isn't about Tanya or her family." Edward reached for Bella's injured hand gently, cradling it as he slowly stroked the length of her splinted fingers "I'm not your enemy and I will never push you or demand anything of you."

_Looks like Edward's needs to be rescued . . . again._ Charlie weighed his options and decided to let the undertow drag Edward out a little before tossing him a life preserver. Saving Edward wouldn't be any fun, but Bella's disagreeable disposition could squash Charlie's plans for graduation.

When Charlie told Bella that Billy and Jacob would be coming to her graduation, Bella indictated that Charlie should hitch a ride, so he wouldn't have to drive to the high school alone. Apparently, Bella had intended to ride with Edward. _No way! No how! _

Charlie tossed reticence aside to make a sweeping proclamation of his having earned the privilege of chauffeuring Bella to the ceremony. He deluded himself, believing his boldness might have been regarded as begging by the less astute and uneducated. However, there was no mistaking the fact that, on that evening, Charlie was one snort of exasperation away from dropping to his knees in supplication.

But it hadn't come to a woefully beseeched request, because the new king of kitty whipped had fortuitously asked if he could ride with the hell cat holding his leash_ and_ her father. It was beautiful. Divine even. Because it meant that Edward Cullen was going to grace the back seat of Charlie's police cruiser.

Charlie motioned to Edward. "Come on. She'll work it out."

_Time to extract a little information from Edward. _He looked befuddled, at least he did to Charlie, who couldn't have been more pleased. It helped make up for the assorted irritations that had been biting at Charlie's ankles this week.

Charlie smiled. Since Edward's parents had readily agreed to drop Edward off, nothing was going to keep the delinquent from being treated to a slow ride through the streets of Forks. _Be warned all yea hooligans who dare look at my daughter!_

_Wait! Edward is laughing! That stupid kid! _Charlie panicked. _Edward's going to mess everything up when he makes Bella mad enough to tell Edward he'll have to get to graduation on foot. _

Charlie decided he should take the heat off Edward, so Charlie leapt in front of the bus and started snickering, too.

"You think this is funny," she snarled at Charlie, as she stomped up stairs with the wadded linens and shirts.

_Crisis averted_, Charlie thought.

"So where have you decided to go to school next year, Edward?" Charlie asked reaching for the Dartmouth envelope.

"Honestly, I've been waiting to see where Bella wants to go," Edward said evenly.

"Is that so? Are you talking about choosing between Alaska and Peninsula College?" Charlie let the consonants pull the tone of his voice toward the floor. The effect on Edward, who was once again chaffing against some internal discomfort, was pleasant.

"Well, those are both possibilities." Edward sat down. The movement was awkward and tentative, as if he was thinking about hitting the door and his feet weren't sure whether to obey the command to sit or an instinct to run.

Charlie passed the envelope from one hand to the other and started tapping it on his leg. Once, Edward said his father would be happy with any choice Edward made, but how far would and could Carlisle Cullen go to guarantee Edward made the right choice.

"Are there others? Possibilities, I mean?" Charlie was sure he had Edward pinned down. He was either going to lie or tell Bella's little secrets.

"I encouraged Bella to apply at several fine universities and, as far as I know, she has not been refused a seat at any of those institutions."

"Including this one?" Charlie stopped fidgeting long enough for Edward to read the return address.

"Yes, including that one," Edward admitted.

Charlie looked around the room. How would he pay for Dartmouth? How could he not, if that is where Bella wanted to go.

"Um, well, Bella's been pretty quiet on the whole subject." Charlie was sorry he had guzzled his beer.

"That's Bella's story to tell. When it comes to knowing what is going on in Bella's mind, I am just as much in the dark as you are." Edward sounded sincere.

"Bella, can you join us?" Charlie figured he would beard the lion in its den. The worst that could happen would be that she packed on overnight back and took off and as long as she wasn't headed some place like Seattle where the murder rate was skyrocketing, Charlie was relatively sure she'd be okay.

Bella walked in the living room and busied herself with the straightening of knick-knacks and papers; the conversation momentarily ceased. Charlie reviewed his mental checklist. Bella was chewing her lip. Edward was sitting tensely. Yep, everybody was at their stations.

"Here, you missed one." Charlie waved the Dartmouth letter.

Bella face tightened, but the effect was one of dread rather than excitement. _Maybe Edward's pushing Dartmouth on Bella._ It suddenly occurred to Charlie that it was entirely possible that Bella wasn't so much as hiding an acceptance from Dartmouth from him as she was hiding it from Edward.

Bella took a deep breath and opened the envelope, dropping several brochures on the floor in her haste. This time, Edward didn't jump to clean up after her. "Student Activities is hosting weekly events for people visiting the Hanover area."

"Hanover?" Charlie asked for clarification.

"Hanover, New Hampshire," she replied.

"That's a long way from Forks."

"Yeah, Dad. Dartmouth is a long way from Forks. Practically another world."

"So you applied? Because Edward did." Charlie lost the nerve to ask if Bella had been accepted there.

"It's a good school." Bella expression had softened and her voice had acquired an almost wistful tone.

"Dartmouth is Ivy League. That'd really be something. Going to a school like that."

Charlie's gaze dropped to the desk; he realized it didn't matter where Bella would go to college; if she went to college at all. His daughter had grown up and he'd barely caught the tail end of her youth. Charlie sighed and remembered the days when Bella would mail school papers and pictures she had drawn to him from Phoenix. _Maybe it's time to really learn how to use email_, he thought.

When Charlie looked up again, he saw that Bella was holding Edward's hand, having let go of whatever had fouled her mood earlier. _Dartmouth_, he said to himself, trying to wrap his head around the idea of just what wanting the best for Bella might mean to Edward Cullen.

* * *

A/N: The world of Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing with her toys. No copyright infringement intended.

In the next chapter:

Charlie felt sorry for Edward and was almost grateful that the young man appeared to temper Bella's wild blood and wanderlust. Her penchant for cliff diving, motorcycle riding and spur of the moment adventures had proven to Charlie that Bella was much like her mother in that regard, and it had been Reneé's yearning for excitement and adventure that had doomed Charlie's marriage.


End file.
